


between the lines that divide your world from mine

by theedgeofthedesert



Category: Glee
Genre: AU, F/M, Grey's Anatomy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-15
Updated: 2012-06-15
Packaged: 2017-11-07 19:48:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 37,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/434713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theedgeofthedesert/pseuds/theedgeofthedesert
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"A month ago you were in medical school being taught by doctors, but today? You are the doctors. The seven years you spend here as a surgical resident will be the best and worst of your life." A Puck/Rachel love story based on the show Grey's Anatomy</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is heavily based on the show Grey's Anatomy. If you know the show, you'll understand what i'm trying to do here right away. If not I suggest you watch the show because it's awesome! However knowledge of the show is not necessary to reading this story. You'll catch on quickly. A couple speeches come directly from the show and the first half of this story will heavily follow Grey's canon but diverge at a certain point. Get ready for a fun ride!

She's really not this stupid all the time. She's not.

When she wakes up not only does her back hurt from sleeping on her hardwood floor (why did she think this was a good idea) but her legs feel like fire and she doesn't know how she's going to get up and work for an almost 48 hour shift on her first day as a surgical intern.

Her eyes are a little blurry and she can feel the draft wafting through the old house so she pulls the blanket around her tighter. She gets up from the floor and makes a step but stumbles over…a man?

Ok she really isn't this stupid.

She thinks back carefully from the night before…it was the meet and greet for all the interns…that guy Finn kept talking to her and making moony eyes but he seemed nice enough. He was the only one she took the time to talk to but she cut out as soon as she could and went to the nearest bar.

She met the hot guy with the Mohawk there. They had drinks…and they flirted and laughed.

And then he fingered her in the cab.

Fucked her against the door.

And the kitchen counter.

And then on the hardwood floor…and that was when they got all of their clothes off.

Her thoughts about that last round of amazing sex are cut when she hears a groan coming from below her and her Mohawk man wakes up. He blearily looks up at her and smiles. "Hey there sexy."

She gives him a small smile and wraps the blanket around her even tighter. God she's so stupid. "Um hi…uh…um…"

"Puck," he offers. "You can call me puck."

"Ok well…Puck. I'm Rachel. Uh I'm going to take a shower. And when I get out you won't be here because I have to go to my first day of work. Ok? Great. It was nice to meet you."

She scurries up the stairs to her bathroom without looking back. God she's so screwed.

* * *

When she gets to the locker room of the hospital it's already busy with activity. People are getting changed, setting things up, getting to know each other. She should have been here earlier to get a head start on all of these things but instead she spent the longest time ever in the shower just to make sure she wouldn't have to face her one night stand again.

She gets to her locker, which is next to a gorgeous Latina girl looking at index cards. She looks up at her when the locker opens and raises an eyebrow. She's intimidating as hell but surgeons tend to be that way to compensate for a lack of skill or something.

Rachel Berry knows she's good. 1st in her class at Columbia and now here she is at Mt. Sinai. She could really care less at who is raising their eyebrow at her.

She'll be nice anyway.

"Hi…I'm Rachel Berry. Who do you have as your resident?"

"Jones…supposedly he's the nazi or something like that. I'm Santana Lopez by the way."

"I've got Jones too."

"Hey me too!" a perky voice pipes up. Rachel and Santana look over to see a tall blonde who seriously does not look like she's going to be a surgeon smiling brightly at them. "I'm Brittany! I have Jones too!"

Santana groans. "I can already sense the headaches coming from that one."

Rachel giggles a little and proceeds to put a few things in her locker while making small talk with Santana and Brittany for a few minutes until a tall awkward looking guy interrupts them.

"Hey Rachel! Do you remember me from last night? Finn Hudson? We were at the mixer and you were wearing that strapless red dress and it had a little slit up the side. Do you have Jones as your resident because if you do we're in the same group, which would be kind of cool huh? I heard he's tough but at least we'll be tortured together!" the man rambles on.

Rachel winces a little at the sheer awkward bumbliness of this guy. He was nice enough at the mixer last night, a little moony, but now that there wasn't any alcohol in her system it just seemed a little weird.

"Uh yeah Finn…I have Jones too. Nice to see you again. This is Santana and Brittany they're in our group too."

Santana and Brittany give Finn a small wave with matching confused looks. "Is he for real with the lovesick eyes this early in the game?" Santana whispers to Brittany.

Suddenly, a group of doctors in scrubs enter the locker room and all of the chatter dies down.

At the head of the group is a slightly large black woman with long black hair in a tight bun and a face that clearly says "Don't fuck with me."

"Alright interns shut it. Welcome to Mt. Sinai. You'll be given your scrubs after the tour of the hospital given by the chief but first we have to match you to your resident. Consider this person your mother, father, coach, whatever fluffy shit you want to think of but when they call you, run, because they own your ass now."

The woman proceeds to call people up quickly and efficiently until Rachel, Santana, Finn, Brittany, and a small man who seemed to have skin that was…porcelain were left.

"Berry, Lopez, Hudson, Pierce, and Hummel. Is that all of you?" the woman asks them impatiently.

"Um yes that's us…we're supposed to be with Jones….is he somewhere else?" Rachel asks.

The woman smirks. "You dumbass kids would think I'm a man or something. Fools. Go on your tour and report back here to get on your scrubs and then meet me at the nurse's desk. That should only take you a hour so if you're not there in a hour don't expect me to be there or for me to teach you a damn thing today. Get out here."

The 5 interns scurry out of the locker room and join the rest of the group at the end of the hallway where a man with curly hair is speaking to the group.

"So my name is Dr. Will Schuester and I'm the chief of surgery here at Mt. Sinai. We're really excited about this new group here and I bet you're all anxious to get underway and get to cutting so let's get a move on with this tour!" Dr. Schuester exclaimed brightly.

As he led the group around the hospital Santana whispered to Rachel, "I can see why people used to call him Count Boozy Von Drunkaton dear God that man is happier than a fucking clown at the circus."

Rachel looked on curiously at Chief Schuester. In some ways he was a stranger but in other ways he played a significant role in her life. A role that was very connected to her mother Shelby.

The group was led in to one of the operating rooms and allowed to explore some of the instruments they would be using. Rachel picked up a scalpel, feeling the blade and imagining the intricate cuts she would be making with it in the future. Her whole life started here, as long as she didn't screw it up.

"Each of you comes here today hopeful, ready to get into the game. A month ago you were in medical school being taught by doctors, but today? You are the doctors. The seven years you spend here as a surgical resident will be the best and worst of your life. You'll be pushed to the brink. Look around you. Say hello to your new competition. 8 of you will switch to an easier specialty, 5 of you will crack under the pressure, and 2 of you will be asked to leave. This is your starting line, this is your arena, and how well you play is up to you."

The interns looked at the chief curiously, for his tone was significantly more serious than it had been the entire tour. He was more bright, excited, cheerful, and welcoming when he was showing them everything in the hospital. But that speech seemed to be more of warning than anything else. And the serious look on his face indicated he meant business.

* * *

After the tour Rachel and her group realized they only had 10 minutes to get to Jones before she bit their heads off. They changed into their scrubs quickly and rushed down the hall to get to her.

"What do you think is the deal with Jones? Why do they call her the Nazi?" Finn asked the group curiously.

"I think it's professional jealousy! She's probably brilliant and they call her a nazi because they're jealous. She's probably nice." Brittany hypothesized.

Santana raises an eyebrow at her. "What were you a model or something? What kind of answer is that?"

Brittany looks back at Santana surprised. "How did you know?"

The group just shakes their head and laughs to themselves as they reach Jones. The look she's giving them puts a little anxiety into their hearts.

She's definitely not nice.

"I've got 5 rules and you better memorize them. Rule #1," she starts as they finally reach her. "Don't bother sucking up I already hate you, that's not gonna change. Trauma protocol, phone lists, pagers. Nurses will page you and you will answer every page at a run, A RUN. That's rule #2. Your first shift starts now and lasts 48 hours. You're interns, grunts, bottom of the surgical food chain. You write labs, run orders, and don't complain! For on call rooms-attendings hog them so sleep when you can. This brings me to rule #3: If I'm sleeping, don't wake me unless your patient is actually dying. Rule #4 your dying patient better not be dead when I get there, that way I know you didn't wake me up for no good reason."

She finally stops at this rule and the group looks around a little confused.

"Uh…Dr. Jones. That was only 4 rules. You said 5," Finn states timidly.

Dr. Jones gives him a glare but is interrupted when her pager goes off. She checks it quickly and starts to walk, but yells out to the group, "Rule #5 when I move you move."

The interns rush after her, ready to get the ball rolling.

* * *

It isn't until a few hours later when Rachel has a minute to breath that she's actually allowed a thought that has nothing to do with anything medical. She sits down in the cafeteria picking at her salad when Finn, Brittany, Santana, and the guy she still only knows as Hummel sit down at the table with her.

Brittany looks glumly at her sandwich. "I've been doing rectal exams all day."

Santana guffaws at this statement. "That's shit. I've been looking into OR rooms every chance I get hoping to get even a wiff of blood or something. I've been running labs for the seizure chick all day and there's nothing telling what's wrong with her. I swear Jones already hates us."

Finn shrugs, "One of the attendings already hates me so at least it's just a resident that hates you."

The group eats quietly for a couple minutes before Rachel looks up and notices the Hummel guy seems really quiet and kind of awkward. It's probably because none of them even know his first name.

"Hey" she calls out. "Hummel right? What's your first name? We didn't really get to talk earlier."

He gives her a nod. "It's Kurt. Kurt Hummel. And you're Rachel Berry right? I've heard of you. You're inbred."

The rest of the group stops eating and looks at Kurt.

"What do you mean by inbred?" Brittany asks.

"Don't you know who her mother is? It's Shelby Corcoran Berry."

Santana and Brittany's eyes widen with astonishment while Finn still looks confused.

"Who is she?"

The group, including Rachel, look at him with judgment in their eyes.

"Seriously?" Santana asks. "She's a freaking surgical legend! She created the Berry method and won the Harper-Avery award twice! I'd kill to learn from her."

Rachel closes her eyes and sighs in frustration. She didn't think it would take this long for everyone to figure out who she is. She knew she should have gotten her name changed. Now everyone was going to suck up to her like she would introduce them to her mother.

Not that she really could.

She faintly hears everyone discussing her mother and her many accomplishments so she gets up from the table and excuses herself, walking away quickly.

* * *

Her patient Katie Brice is an actual pain in the ass.

Sure the kid is 16, and yeah she's having unexplained seizures, but taking care of her and carting her around everywhere all day has been hell. If it weren't for the fact that she took an oath to never harm people she would have given her something lethal by now.

Thank God she was on a sedative.

She was checking the vitals on Katie when her parents rushed in quickly, out of breath, and frantic. She was overwhelmed with questions and worry from the two of them and she felt a little smaller under their scrutiny. She didn't really know what to tell them.

"I'm uh…I'm going to get Katie's doctor for you because well…I'm not really her doctor. I'm a doctor! Just not hers. Excuse me…" she trails off as she slinks out of the room.

She finds Dr. Jones who directs her to go talk to the new neuro attending who just got on the case. "His name is Dr. Puckerman or something. Go find him at the main desk," Dr. Jones tells her.

Something is familiar about that name but she ignores it and makes her way to the main desk. What she finds when she gets there almost makes her trip and land on her face.

Standing at the main desk laughing with a few other doctors is her one night stand…Puck. He doesn't seem to have the Mohawk anymore and his head is shaved but she would recognize those hazel eyes anywhere. He looks up from his conversation and eyes her, and his own eyes brighten at the recognition. She stumbles back a little and goes past the doors that lead to the hallway in order to gather her thoughts.

What the fuck? Her one night stand just happens to be her boss?

She's  _so_  screwed.

* * *

He catches up with her in the stairwell and she knows she kind of can't escape.

"Well hey there girl from last night. Fancy seeing you here," he says as he saunters up to her. He eyes the name tag on her ID and smirks "Dr. Rachel Berry is it? I do remember your name from last night although it's a shame you couldn't remember mine this morning. You were screaming it all night after all."

Rachel's mouth hangs open and her expression on her face is absolute shock. When she comes to a little bit she glares at the man and smacks him on the arm. "Really Dr. Puckerman? This is inappropriate!"

"I'm kind of an inappropriate guy Dr. Berry," he responds while laughing.

She shakes her head unamused. "Can we just forget that ever happened? You're my boss and this is awkward and it can't really get any wor-"

"I can't really forget last night," he murmurs as he moves closer to her until he's leaning against the wall with his arm trapping her in place. Their bodies are only centimeters from touching and he looks into her eyes a minute, lulling her into a spell almost. The hazel in his eyes is even brighter than it was last night. He leans down until his mouth is in line with her ear.

"I can't really forget about everything we did last night," he whispers while Rachel shudders at the sensual tone of his voice. "I can't forget how fucking eager you were when we got inside your house and you let me take you against the door. Your heels were digging in my skin but I didn't care because you felt so damn good around me, so fucking tight. God we rocked together so in rhythm once we got on your floor. And baby when we got our clothes off and I was able to feel your body, I didn't know skin could be that soft. You can't tell me you want to forget my fingers trailing down your stomach and teasing your clit while you whined for me to just touch you already. You can't forget all that."

Rachel's breath labored at the memory of how he felt against her all night. She felt his lips lay a soft kiss against her earlobe, so soft that she can't even say for sure that it happened. But then heat left her body as Puck pushed away from the wall and slowly backed away from Rachel.

"How about we be inappropriate together again? Say Friday night?" he asks with a smirk, seeing how effected she was by his words.

Rachel lets the haze of lust leave her mind and reason settle in. Her gaze hardens and she stands up straight. "No Dr. Puckerman. You're an attending, I'm an intern. It would be foolish for us to take this relationship outside of the professional level. Last night was great but we were drunk and it's not going to happen again. Katie Brice's parents are waiting for you to answer some questions for them so you better go."

Dr. Puckerman raises an eyebrow at her and just laughs. "Alright Dr. Berry. I guess I'll see you around."

He leaves the stairwell and Rachel is left nervous. She knows this man will be trouble.


	2. Chapter 2

When she has some free time she does a little research on this…Dr. Puckerman. In fact his name is Dr. Noah Puckerman. He's the best neurosurgeon in the Midwest with huge success rates in high-risk surgeries. He's basically the shit.

 

She's not even going to deny that his prestige turns her on a little.

She goes through the next few hours completely dodging him even though she's still monitoring his patient, Katie Brice, who is still proving to be a pain in the ass. She's sitting in the basement downstairs making conversation with Brittany and Santana and actually taking a break when she gets a 911 page from Katie.

She really hasn't run that fast in a very long time. Being a surgeon actually takes endurance.

When she gets to Katie's room she hears no incessant beeping and the kid isn't shaking like a fish out of water. In fact she's sitting there with a magazine in her hand and a bored look on her face, completely fine.

"What took you so long?" she asks curtly.

See? Pain in the ass.

She can't even be bothered to yell at the girl so she walks right out of the room.

 

* * *

The next time she gets a 911 page from Katie she's shooting the shit with Santana.

 

The girl is actually very funny. She tells her all about some of her escapades when she was at Stanford and she has a bit of a hard time believing the girl still managed to be #1 in her class and still get here.

"We should go dancing sometime. I'm in fucking New York you know? I'm gonna need to dance off this place every now and then." She says to Rachel.

She smiles and nods. "Yeah I know of a few places. I'll definitely take you somewhere."

They sit around in silence for a few minutes, passing a bag of potato chips between them. Rachel didn't think she'd have this much downtime on her first shift, but all she's been doing really is running labs and trying to keep a bratty teenager happy.

"Did you hear Finn is supposed to do the first solo surgery later? That attending Dr. Rutherford picked him to do it or something." Santana asks in between bites.

Rachel raises an eyebrow. "Really? I feel like that can't end well. I mean Finn is nice and must have gotten in here for a reason but…he's really awkward."

Santana laughs. "Yeah and already in love with you huh?"

Rachel scoffs. "Yeah ok. The last thing I need is some guy to be in love with me. I have enough to deal with."

"What do you mean? You're an intern at Mt. Sinai hospital, your mom is fucking Shelby Berry, and you're young, hot and working to be an awesome surgeon. Not much to deal with in my opinion."

Rachel opens her mouth to answer when her beeper goes off again. She sighs in frustration and Santana gives her a knowing look. "Fucking Katie."

She walks leisurely upstairs to Katie's room, trying to think of what the kid would want now. When she gets to the floor she immediately sees nurses and other personnel hurrying in and out of Katie's room. Her face pales and she runs fast into the room to find the girl seizing uncontrollably. Her vitals are all over the place.

One of the other doctors is trying to hold her down and yelling at her for instructions.

"This is your call Dr. Berry. What should we do?"

She looks around bewildered because she's been anticipating this moment where she gets to call the shots and actually be a doctor. And now it's here and she has no idea what to do.

She thinks quickly, naming various medicines in her head. "She's full on Lorazapan?"

The nurses nod.

"You paged Dr. Jones and Dr. Puckerman right?"

They look at her like she's crazy. She probably is. She can't be the only one taking care of this kid. She has no idea what she's doing.

"Fill her up on Phenobarbital!" she barks.

They insert the drug into the IV and there's no change. Fuck.

She hears voices on all sides of her and she's overwhelmed. She's never felt her brain running this fast before but she can't catch a thought that's going to do anything for this girl.

"You need to tell us what to do Dr. Berry!"

Katie suddenly goes still, which would be a relief to everyone in the room, if it weren't for the fact that she was flatlining.

The nurses call out code blue and quickly bring in the crash cart. Rachel runs over closer to Katie while the nurses move her hospital gown out of the way. Rachel rubs the paddles together and calls for a 200 charge. When she puts it to Katie the electricity clearly runs through but her heart still won't start.

"Charge to 300!"

Still nothing.

"Charge to 360."

Her heart still won't start. "Come on Katie don't die on me."

"Dr. Berry you're supposed to administer another drug by this time-"

"I don't care! Charge again."

The nurse charges reluctantly and Rachel presses the paddles to Katie's chest. The charge runs and they miraculously hear the signs of a heart beat coming back. Rachel breathes a sign of relief as everyone around her spits out vitals. She watches as her blood pressure starts to go back up, but her internal celebration is interrupted when Dr. Puckerman bursts into the room.

Well finally.

"What the hell happened?" he asks sternly as he moves past everyone to get to Katie.

"She had multiple gran mal seizures and her heart stopped," Rachel answers.

"You were supposed to be watching her Dr. Berry!" he shouts.

"I was!" she yells back. "I checked on her and everything but-"

"Just go. I've got this," he says stonily.

She moves to say something else but his attention is fully on Katie and she can't really find a way to defend herself. She stumbles out of the room and looks around quickly for anywhere to go to release the bile she feels in her throat. Now that the adrenaline has passed she feels absolutely sick. She runs past Brittany and Santana who call out to her concerned, and pushes past a set of double doors to get to the courtyard outside. It's raining, and the cold water dripping on her head is settling the heat she feels all over, but it doesn't stop her from puking into a bush. She coughs and dry heaves until everything is out of her system and stands up straight to wipe her mouth. She turns towards the door and sees Brittany and Santana holding the door for her, one with sympathetic expression and the other with an understanding look. She sighs and moves towards them.

"Tell anyone about this and I will kill you," she hisses as she moves past them and goes inside.

 

* * *

Dr. Jones chews her out for not paging her when Katie flatlined, but really why would she be thinking about that when her patient was basically dead?

 

She heads into one of the on-call rooms and takes a short nap. She's asleep for maybe a hour before she hears someone walk in.

She sits up and squints at the light to see Santana at the doorway. "Can I come in?" she asks.

Rachel shrugs and lies back down. Santana closes the door so that the room is dark again. She hears her climb up the small ladder of the bunk bed so she can lay on the top bunk to get settled. It's quiet for a few moments and Rachel's thankful that Santana isn't trying to get anything out of her like a vulture. She thought that's what the girl would be like at first, but she's kind of been proved wrong.

"I slept with Dr. Puckerman last night," she confesses.

The room is silent for a few more seconds, and Rachel's afraid that Santana is already asleep…until she let's out a loud laugh.

"Are you fucking serious? And now he's our boss basically. Nice. Very nice Berry you're definitely not boring. Was he good? He looks like he would be fantastic."

Rachel blushes at the question. "I'm not telling you that. And this isn't good. I need to just forget about it because it's making things awkward. I mean he yelled at me over there in Katie's room. I got her heart to start again and he yells at me! If I hadn't seen him naked last night this wouldn't be such a problem but I have and now I feel like he owes me something."

"Did he not give you enough orgasms or something?"

"Oh he gave me plenty-" Rachel responds without thinking. At the realization of her comment she covers her mouth in shock and chuckles. She hears Santana laughing above her and the two of them stay in that mode for awhile.

It's nice to find something funny about the situation.

 

* * *

It's the 24th hour of her shift and she wishes she could just die already. She's heading into one of the conference rooms with Brittany because Dr. Puckerman is holding a short meeting for all of the interns. They head into the room, talking and laughing together and find a place to stand amongst everyone else. They spot Santana and Kurt across the room and wave. All the chatter in the room stops though once Dr. Puckerman walks swiftly into the room.

 

Rachel takes a good look at him. She can tell he's stressed out and tired. He must have not slept all night trying to figure out what's wrong with Katie. He looks around the room quickly and spots Rachel. They make eye contact and he gives her an apologetic look and a smile. She feels a shudder through her heart at his look and resists the urge to smile back. She keeps her face blank.

He turns his attention to the rest of the room and explains that he needs their help finding out what's wrong with Katie. "Her labs are clean and her scans are pure but she's still having gran mal seizures with no visible cause," he tells them visibly perplexed. "So I need you guys to be my eyes and ears. Do some research and find out what the hell is going on with this kid. Whoever finds the answer gets in on the surgery because trust me, the kid is going to need surgery."

The interns have hungry looks on their faces and they seem eager to get out of the meeting already to go find the answer. Rachel can't muster up the motivation. Dr. Puckerman excuses himself and walks out as fast as he came in, leaving everyone to discuss excitedly. She says bye quickly to Brittany and walks out of the room, intending to get some coffee and probably see what else Jones wants her to do. She hears her name being called from behind and turns around to see Santana.

"Hey. You were the intern on Katie's case. Do you want to team up? This way at least one of us has a shot at the surgery."

"Sure I'll help you but I don't even want it you can have it."

Santana looks shocked. "How can you be giving up a surgery who are you?"

Rachel smiles. "I'd just rather not spend more time with Dr. Puckerman when I'm so low on sleep. I make terrible decisions sometimes when I'm tired."

In between rounds and running more labs, the women sit in the library with books and charts sitting around them. They discuss the various items on her chart and come up with theories as to what could be the cause of the seizures.

"What if she dies?" Rachel mumbles as she's searching through a book.

"Well I hate to say it but…I would hate to miss out on that surgery," Santana says nonchalantly.

Rachel scoffs. "You're terrible you know that?"

Santana simply shrugs. "I mean it would suck because she's so young. She hasn't really had time to become like…an overgrown brat."

Rachel nods in agreement. "You know she does beauty pageant competitions?"

Santana cackles. "No shit? I'm not even surprised. What's her talent?"

"Rhythmic gymnastics."

"What the fuck even is that?"

"I don't know. I'd probably sing if it were me. You can't go wrong with singing."

"You can sing Berry?" Santana asks interested.

"Yeah…I'm good I guess. I used to do it a lot more when I was younger and my dad encouraged it." Rachel stops at the mention of her father, wondering why she even mentioned him. She's not ready for questions about her mother, let alone her father.

"What were you like…Broadway worthy? Do you like Broadway?"

"Well if I wasn't a doctor I'd probably try and get on Broadway. And yeah I do like it. I should take you a show-a good one. Not some of the stupid stuff that's out there."

"So dancing and a Broadway show? We've already got a couple nights planned I like it. I should have come to New York sooner."

Rachel smiles and the two of them fall back into silence. She looks over a few things on Katie's chart again and thinks about the kid's pageant career when she comes to a realization.

"Santana…I think I've got it."

 

* * *

They catch Dr. Puckerman at the nurse's station and rush over to him, eager to tell their findings.

 

"Dr. Puckerman we think we found something!" Santana exclaims.

Rachel lets Santana do all the talking and she goes on to explain that while everything seems normal from the labs, there is the very small possibility she could have an aneurysm because Katie did fall and twist her ankle at her pageant practice a few weeks ago. "It was so minor that her doctor didn't even report it to me in her history. But she  _did_  fall Dr. Puckerman." Santana finishes with a deep breath.

He's looking at the two of them skeptical and unsure, but when he looks into their eyes and sees that they're confident about their findings, he lets up a little. "You know how small the chance is that a minor fall would cause an aneurysm right?"

They both nod.

He sighs. "Alright go run the tests and we'll see."

A hour later they're looking at her scans astonished at the small detail they couldn't see before. "Do you see that small small hemorrhage coming through right there?" he asks them while pointing to the screen. The two interns nod completely enraptured by what they've discovered. "She's bleeding into her brain," Rachel whispers.

"She could have gone her whole life without it being a problem until one small thing and it bursts. You guys just saved her life," he tells them proudly.

Rachel and Santana look at each other excited. Dr. Puckerman talks about going to talk to Katie's parents but Santana stops him before he goes. "So about who gets to scrub in…we helped and everything so-"

"Oh yeah. I would have the two of you in but there's going to be a lot of people in there. So I'll see you in the OR Dr. Berry," he tells them with a smile, having no idea what he's just done.

The two women stand there in shock, not saying a word, and Puck takes this as his cue to leave. They stand in silence for a moment before Rachel turns to Santana. "I could…I could go tell him I don't-"

"Save it," Santana mutters before stalking out of the room.

'So much for making friends' Rachel thinks to herself. She knew Puckerman would be trouble.

 

* * *

She has a good half hour before she has to start prepping Katie for surgery and decides to spend it outside now that it stopped raining. When she comes out to the courtyard she puked in earlier, she finds Finn sitting on one of the benches. He looks about as miserable as she feels, so she goes to sit next to him on the bench. He nods in acknowledgement and they sit next to each other in silence for a few minutes.

 

"What the hell am I doing here?" he asks. "I get the first solo surgery out of all the interns…it's just an appendectomy…and I mess it up. I completely just mess it up. And now everyone thinks I'm an idiot. They call me 007 now…you know…license to kill?"

Rachel winces. "Yeah it was…it was bad but…it could have happened to any of us Finn. I wouldn't worry too much about it."

"But you haven't heard the worst. The guy I had who was supposed to have a valve replacement? He died. I told his wife that everything would be ok, that Dr. Rutherford was the best and take care of everything. But the damage in his heart was too much to take him off bypass and Rutherford had to let him go. So he fucking hates me now too."

She doesn't really know what to say, because she understands he's had a bad day and no amount of reassurances will make up for anything that's happened.

"I should have been a…postal worker or something. Then again I ran over one when I was teenager and my mom was teaching me how to drive," Finn says.

Rachel giggles at the thought. "I wanted to be a Broadway singer for a long time. I took a lot of dance and singing lessons until I got to high school."

Finn looks over at her amazed. "You would have been really good I bet."

Rachel smirks. "Yeah…I would have. You know when I told my parents I was going to medical school they both told me not to. Said I might not like it. But my mom…my mom didn't think I had what it takes. Not like her. But I'm here. And so are you. They wouldn't let us in here if they didn't think we deserved it. So do what you can Finn. It's your first day…we're all going to make mistakes it's just the beginning."

She gives Finn and reassuring smile and a pat on the back before getting up to go back inside. She needs to talk to Puckerman about this surgery anyway.

Finn watches her leave and smiles to himself. "She's kind of awesome," he says to himself.

 

* * *

When Rachel finds Dr. Puckerman, he's in Katie's room shaving her head for surgery. He looks concentrated, but is very gentle as he smoothes over the hair before he lightly runs the razor through it. She leans against the door, wishing she could watch him for a few more moments, but she can't let herself feel this way.

 

"You should give her a Mohawk," she says jokingly.

He looks up surprised but once he sees it's her he smiles and laughs a little. "You would like that wouldn't you?"

She rolls her eyes playfully and moves closer into the room. "Can I ask you something?"

He nods while continuing to shave Katie's head.

"Did you recruit me for the surgery just because we had sex?" she asks bluntly.

He quirks an eyebrow and looks over her leeringly. "Well our night together was pretty memorable…"

Rachel glares at Puck in shock. Before she can do anything though, Puck bursts out laughing.

"God I'm just joking…we have got to work on your sense of humor Dr. Berry. Of course I did put you on the surgery because I had sex with you. You've been on Katie's case since the very start and you deserve to see it through. I know I yelled at you during her code blue last night but the fact of the matter is you saved her life. You haven't had much experience Rachel but you did what you could, and there's something to be said about that. So yes I put you on the surgery. I know it may seem like it but…I'm not this guy that thinks about sex all the time. You're hot Rachel and our night together was…well you know what it was…but it's not going to interfere with what happens in my OR. I'm the shit for a reason and it's not because I favor interns. You earned your spot, accept it, and don't let me hold you back."

By the end of his speech she's smiling softly and blushing. She knows he's right, and it makes her even more determined to keep this partnership professional. He knows what he's doing in the OR and she can learn so much from him. She's not going to jeopardize what either of them has because of one night. Starting now.

 

* * *

Dr. Noah Puckerman might actually be a god.

 

Rachel walks out of the OR room in a daze, stripping off her scrub cap and sitting down on one of the chairs. The smile on her face can't be taken away because she can still smell the acrid stench of blood.

Watching the nurses handle the tools and the control Puck had over the situation was more exhilarating than anything she'd ever seen. His face was basically covered, except for his eyes, but even from that she can tell that he knew exactly what he was doing. The aneurysm was hard to reach but as he concentrated into the telescope to get a closer look, the challenge didn't even faze him. He called her over at one point to take over the other telescope and watch how he did things, and she can still feel the shudders from actually watching the blood course through and drain through her brain, and the technique Puck used to clip the aneurysm accurately.

This was it. This was all it was. She knew exactly why she was here.

She's interrupted from her thoughts when Puck comes out of the OR room, handing over a chart to one of the nurses. He looks over to Rachel and gives her a knowing look, and she can't help but beam at him.

"That was…that was amazing. The way you just went in there and…that was everything. You practice on cadavers and you think you know but until you get in and it's  _right there_ …you don't. And now I do."

He nods. "I remember that too the first time I was in the OR. I was scared shitless thinking I was going to do something wrong…and the surgeon told me to massage the heart to get it started after we took our guy off bypass because he wasn't responding. But to feel that heart beat in my hand…that was the start of everything. I've been addicted to the OR ever since you know?"

She laughs. "I would beg for another surgery if I hadn't been up for basically 48 hours."

"I know how that feels. I'll see you around Dr. Berry." He smiles and winks at her before he saunters off.

She watches him dreamily, almost forgetting to say bye. "See you!" she calls out. She falls back against the chair with a sigh. He's almost too perfect.

She sees Santana come into the hallway and walk in her direction. They make eye contact and Rachel gives her an apologetic look. Santana sighs in frustration and moves to walk over and sit with Rachel.

"Can we not do this mushy "I'm so sorry" shit?"

"I should have given you the surgery…I should have talked to Puckerman and-"

"No…no. This is how it works here ok? I was pissed at first because you slept with the guy and your mother is Shelby Berry so it's like you're already ahead of everyone but whatever. I've worked my ass off for everything I've ever gotten you know? And you worked your ass off today too to make sure that kid didn't die. So let's not even do this ok it's not necessary."

Rachel nods, knowing the issue has been resolved and all things are good between them. She nudges Santana playfully with a laugh before it turns suddenly into a yawn. Santana looks at her with a raised eyebrow and grins. "You look like shit Berry."

She giggles as Santana gets up and pulls Rachel along with her so they can walk to the locker room to go home. They officially survived the first shift.


	3. Chapter 3

She needs roommates.

 

When she first moved into her mother's brownstone she was planning on selling it quite honestly. She didn't want the memories and the hassle of having to keep it up. But somewhere along the line she felt sort of attached to it again…it was her home after all. She grew up in this place. And it was a wonderful place to live with easy access to the hospital…her mother was Shelby Berry after all.

But she needed roommates.

When she goes into work for her shift, she puts up an ad on the bulletin board. If she guesses correctly, she'll have some responses by the time she gets changed in the locker room.

She's right.

Brittany and Finn immediately ask about the rooms and she wants to say no. She really does. It's not that she doesn't like them-she thinks they're great. Especially Brittany. The girl is lighthearted and fun which can be a relief when you've been doing sutures for about 3 hours straight and your hand hurts. In those cases go see Brittany and she'll make you go to the baby nursery and stare at the newborns.

It's kind of torturous but its become a tradition between her, Brittany, and finn.

The thing is…she sees these two for a large majority of her day. She works with them, competes with them, saves lives with them. Isn't that enough?

So she tells them no.

"Why'd you put up posters for a roommate when you don't want roommates?" Brittany asks confused.

"I do want roommates! But I'm picky I'm sorry. Do you really want to work AND live together?"

Finn looks like he's eager to say yes. She's going to ignore that honestly…it makes things less awkward.

The problem is that the other people who want to be her roommate are kind of ridiculous.

When she asks one girl to name a few music groups she likes she actually says Jessica Simpson.

No.

Another one has never even been to Soho and has been in New York for the past year.

She knows these qualities are ridiculous, but she can't find it within herself to tolerate people who aren't that cultured. It makes her a snob but she can afford to be one at this point…she's a surgeon.

By the end of the day she still hasn't found anyone and Santana, Brittany, and Finn just aren't surprised.

* * *

 

Coming into work one morning Rachel knows that she…has a disease. A bug has bit her. She needs another surgery and she needs it now.

Ever since her surgery with Dr. Puckerman she can't stop having dreams about doing it herself and it's killing her. She has to find a way to get into an OR room. There's no choice.

When everyone meets up at the nurse's station for rounds, Dr. Jones comes over to them looking tired and annoyed. It's really a regular morning. She gives them their assignments and while Rachel is excited to be on trauma, she knows she won't actually get to perform any surgeries herself unless she sucks up to Dr. Jones.

So she hold up a mocha latte to her with a bright hopeful smile. "Dr. Jones I think I've proved myself in my time here so far and I was wondering if there were any surgeries I could get involved with today? I think I'm really ready to start doing some procedures with the assistance of residents and attendings."

Santana, Kurt, Finn, and Brittany all look at Rachel with expressions that range from admiration, shock, to amusement. Jones just looks pissed. She snatches the mocha out of her hands and looks over all of the interns with a "hmph".

"Do you know what the point of an intern is?" she asks them.

"To begin to learn about the complex world of surgery and prepare to be a resident?" Rachel answers hopefully.

"No!" Jones barks. "You're here to make your residents happy. Do I look happy right now you ungrateful whiny brats?"

The 5 interns cower back and shake their heads while avoiding her fierce eye contact.

"Exactly. Go do the damn assignments I gave so I'll be happy and maybe all of you won't be stuck in the pit all day every day for the rest of the week."

They scurry off in different directions. Dr. Jones takes a sip of her mocha with a satisfied smirk and walks down the hall whistling to herself.

* * *

 

Kurt and Rachel walk down the hall together, carrying a bunch of charts they're supposed to sign and fill out before they go on to their respective assignments for the day.

"Does Dr. Jones even have a first name? That would humanize her a bit don't you think?" Rachel ponders outloud.

"She does…it's Mercedes. Sassy don't you think?" Kurt answers.

"Ah it all becomes clear now," she says laughing.

"What you did back there was pretty stupid you know?" he informs her.

She raises an eyebrow. "Well, I thought it was a good idea. It never hurts to ask for what you want and I wanted a surgery. Plus she needed coffee."

Kurt just looks back at her with narrowed eyes like he doesn't believe her. She can read this on his face and sighs.

"Kurt…I'm getting the feeling that you don't like me or something."

Kurt stops and turns to look at her with a sour look on his face. "Look when you stepped into the locker room I thought you were a nurse or something and in the wrong place. And then I come to find out you're Rachel Berry and it all clicks. You're inbred, you here specifically at Mt. Sinai because your mother ruled this place at one time. That's all well and good but some of us worked our asses off to get here and didn't use our connections to get around. So really it's not that I don't like you…it's that I'm waiting for you to prove you even belong here for a reason besides your name."

Rachel glares back. "Are you fucking serious right now? You know what I'm going to do these charts upstairs. I don't have to explain myself to you when you don't even know me."

The two interns stalk away from each other with matching indignant looks on their face.

* * *

 

Carrying the charts closely to her chest, Rachel waits for the elevator that will take her back downstairs to the main kiosk. She feels a presence appear next to her, and turns her head only to meet Dr. Puckerman's hazel eye and tell tale smirk.

"Dr. Puckerman," she greets formally.

He gives her a smile before turning his attention back to his cell phone. They both wait in silence for a few minutes, until Puck decides to say something.

"New York has some of the best waffles ever you know?"

Rachel squints in confusion. "What?"

"I've been living here for over a month now and I only just discovered that diner over on 6th that has the fucking best waffles I've ever had. I have a thing for waffles. So now I have to like it here."

"Were you not planning on liking it here?"

"I'm from the Midwest. We're not city people."

"You don't seem like a Midwest kind of guy Dr. Puckerman."

"Yeah well…why do you think I'm here in New York now."

The elevator dings and opens up at that moment and the two doctors step in quickly, punching in their desired floors. Puck steps behind Rachel, going back to whatever he was looking at on his cell phone and Rachel shifts uncomfortably at the silence.

"I'm…I'm not going to go out with you, I hope you know that. I'm not sleeping you with again either," she states haughtily.

Puck looks up from his cell phone confused. "Did I even say anything about that cause-"

"You're my boss, you're my boss's boss, my teacher, my teacher's teacher," she lists as if she's trying to convince herself more than him.

"Ok but-"

"Stop sexually harassing me!" she exclaims exasperated. She can feel the heat emanating from his body making her slightly uncomfortable. She can feel her body giving in but to what she can't exactly pinpoint.

"Um I'm riding a fucking elevator."

She turns around sharply and faces him with a glare. "Well stop with the charming act like I'm going to jump you or something." The two of them face off in a staring contest, Puck's expression becoming more heated after a few seconds. Rachel's breath hitches and Puck makes a decision by reaching over and pressing the stop button on the elevator. He quirks an eyebrow in challenge.

She stares back for a second, before growling, "Fuck it," and dropping the charts to push Puck against the wall in a brutal kiss.

Their lips clash in a battle for a few seconds, and Puck wastes no time grasping Rachel's hips and grinding himself against her. She moans heatedly and tears her lips away from his, only to latch them onto his neck. She sucks at the skin, biting it softly and licks a trail up to his jaw before laying a soft kiss there. He groans and drags his hands down from her hips to grab her ass to lift her into his arms. She wraps her legs around his waist while he turns them around to trap Rachel against the wall. He continues to grind his hips against hers, the friction from their scrubs creating an intense heat and sensation. She pants, kissing him hard again to avoid crying out, letting him massage her mouth with his tongue.

She reaches under his scrub top, feeling the hardness of his skin, and gasps as his crotch finally hits just that spot at her center. She undulates her hips against his and they moan in unison as the heat intensifies between them. All they have to do is drop the scrub pants and she can scratch this itch. She remembers everything from that night they had together. She remembers how his fingers knew exactly how to coax the cries out of her. She shudders remembering his breath against her ear and how he looked when he came. She can't help denying she wants it all over again.

"Do you remember it baby? This feels just as good as it did last time," he pants into her ear.

"Yeah," she cries brokenly. "God yes it does." She closes her eyes tightly, not being able to handle the sensations anymore as he licks a line from her collarbone to her neck.

"Let me touch you baby, please. Do you feel how much I want you? I think about that night so much," he whispers into her jaw.

She nods fervently, because if she says anything she'll end up just rejecting him and go through the whole day uncomfortable from intense arousal.

And no one in this hospital needs that to happen.

Puck lets her down from his grasp, still holding her in place, and uses one hand to pull down her scrub pants and panties while the other pushes inside her shirt until he's pulling down her bra cups roughly and grasping her breasts. Rachel gasps at the dual sensations of shock to her breasts, and air coming to her center. Puck swipes up her pussy, ending at her clit, which he flicks a couple times, making her cry out in frustration. "Fuck baby, you're so wet." He continues to move his finger lightly against her clit, but occasionally switches to teasing her opening with his fingers. She wraps her arms around his neck to keep herself upright and arches her back to grind herself more against him to get what she wants.

"Stop teasing me…please," she pleads.

He grins, "Tell me what you want Dr. Berry."

She sighs frustrated as he continues his torture and nibbles at her earlobe, soothing the pain though with soft kisses. "Fuck, just touch me…please just touch me Puck-"

"Call me Noah," he interrupts. "And where, where do you want me, how do you want it?" he asks as he begins to press a finger in her opening.

"Noah! Oh god," she cries grinding her hips. "I want your fingers in me. Touch my pussy please."

He grins against her ear and tweaks her nipple while entering her with 2 fingers at the same time. She gyrates against him, crying out his name brokenly as he slowly thrusts his fingers in and out. He moves his head to take her lips again, swallowing her moans, and continues to massage her breast, switching from one to the other frequently.

"You're so tight baby just like I remembered. It felt so good when you came around me baby…do it again," he says against her lips.

Her breathing becomes more labored as his fingers move faster and faster. She doesn't think she'll ever come, knowing the feeling is right there but he won't put her over the edge. That is, until he thrusts in 3 fingers and curls them at the exactly right spot. He presses against it roughly, repeating the movement and it coaxes a shrill cry from Rachel. She arches her entire body, shuddering uncontrollably.

"Oh god oh god oh god, Noah! Yes!" she cries.

"Fucking come Rachel," he grunts as he pushes into her again and uses his thumb to press against her clit hard, sending her over the edge.

She spasms in his arms, letting out a sharp shriek and feels a strong burst of heat wash over her. He takes his hand from under her shirt, putting her bra back into place and wraps it around her hip, bringing her fully against him while he slowly removes his fingers from her. They both look at his hand heatedly, seeing that it's glistening from Rachel's juices. He looks back at her with a shit-eating grin and proceeds to put all 3 fingers into his mouth, sucking the juices from them. Rachel stares at him in shock and he takes them out with a pop. Before she can protest or yell, he brings his head down to kiss her, shoving his tongue in her mouth so she can taste herself.

She'd like to say this disgusts her but tasting herself on his tongue turns her on more than she'd like to admit. Especially when she tastes herself on a man that has given her a multitude of intense orgasms.

He continues to kiss her slowly, taking his time as if he's trying to memorize everything about her mouth. She relaxes in his arms and feels his hands bring her scrubs back up her legs to secure them on her hips. He pulls away reluctantly, leaving one last peck on her lips.

"We should probably get out of here," he murmurs.

She nods shyly, suddenly aware of everything that just transpired. She moves around him to put distance and quickly picks up the charts she dropped. Puck looks at her strangely before sighing and pressing the stop button again to make the elevator continue working.

Rachel groups the charts together and gathers them into her arms as the elevator comes to a stop at the floor. She completely avoids eye contact with Puck, and as soon as the doors open she scurries out past curious onlookers.

"So uh…we'll talk later?" Puck calls out confused. He looks at the people who are impatiently waiting for the elevator and shrugs. "Faulty elevator…very strange hm?"

* * *

 

She spends the time doing her charts trying to figure out what the hell she did that for.

It was very stupid. It was very very stupid and now she's given him the wrong idea. She doesn't want to be sneaking all over the hospital having sex with the guy and she doesn't want to endanger her career before it even starts. But he's hard to resist for reasons other than his sexual prowess.

He's good at what he does. He's the shit at what he does in fact. He knows this but instead of it being a detriment it's more of an asset. He can take on inoperable tumors that no one else can because he'll take that risk.

But there's this gentleness. She remembers first seeing it while he shaved Katie's head and smoothed over her hair. He was funny with the patients. The rare time that a baby or toddler was brought in they adored him from what she could see.

She just doesn't know what he wants. She doesn't want to be a notch on his bedpost or take a chance on this only to fall on her ass.

Who's to say he'll stick around once she gives in. The thrill of the chase will wear off and he'll dump her making being in this hospital hell.

It's already hell being an intern. But being an intern who is an attending's ex is probably even worse. She won't go there again.

She can't take a risk like this.

* * *

 

The trauma floor is an absolute mess.

When she finally got down there after handling her charts they immediately gave her a rape victim who happened to be wearing the same shoes she came in with this morning.

It's weird ok? It shouldn't be weird but it is.

The girl is bruised and battered. The beating she took is absolutely ridiculous and she'll be lucky if she lives. When a couple of the attendings, including Dr. Puckerman, come in to do some work on her, they happen to make an interesting discovery that gives Rachel a new level of respect for their patient.

Dr. Rutherford is working on fixing one of the ruptures when he pulls out the source.

"What the hell is this? Does anyone know what this is?" he asks as he holds up the object.

Rachel looks at it closely and her eyes widen in realization. "Oh my god. She bit it off," she murmurs.

"Excuse me?" Dr. Rutherford asks looking at her.

"That's…what you're holding…that's a penis. She bit off his penis!"

Everyone in the room gasps while Dr. Rutherford drops it into the tray disgusted. Puck guffaws at Dr. Rutherford's reaction and shakes his head. "It seems we have a warrior on our hands huh? Apparently her rape kit came back negative too. I can see why."

Rachel looks down at her chart quickly. Allison.

"Her name is Allison," she interrupts suddenly. Everyone in the room looks at her.

She can't fully see the expression on his face because of the face mask, but his eyes twinkle in understanding. "Alright then Alison. Let's make sure you get out of here," Puck mumurs.

* * *

 

It ends up that she has to deliver the severed penis to the chief. It is evidence after all and the police will be coming to collect it.

One of the nurses puts it in a cooler for her and she rushes over to the chief's office to get rid of it. Carrying around a penis is not a good feeling.

When she gets there, an older woman is sitting at a desk writing something down. Rachel knocks on the door.

"Excuse me…I have the uh…the uh…"

"The penis?" the woman finishes for her knowingly.

"Yeah."

"Can I see it?" the woman asks curiously.

Rachel squints her eyes in confusion.

"Never mind never mind. I'm Holly by the way!" she exclaims.

Rachel nods shyly, looking around hoping that the chief will come in soon.

Like an answer to her prayers, Chief Schuester comes into the room walking jovially. He greets Holly brightly, but seems to get even more excited when he sees Rachel, if that's even possible.

"Rachel Berry! I was wondering when I was going to see you. Great to see you! How's your mother? Is she still with Mayo?"

He reaches for her hand and shakes it enthusiastically. She smiles shyly and answers, "Um yes, it's nice to see you too. No actually she left Mayo not too long ago."

"Oh really?" he replies surprised. "Where is she now then?"

Rachel shifts her eyes around the room nervously, trying to think of a good excuse. "She's uh…traveling actually."

"Really? Is she back with the UN or-"

"No she's just…traveling. Taking a break you know?"

The chief narrows his eyes. "That's…interesting. Doesn't sound like Shelby though. Well tell her I said hello ok?"

"Yeah I'll tell her next time I talk to her. So I have the uh…the penis." She holds up the cooler to his gaze. He eyes it strangely for a second before nodding.

"Hey Holly did the police say when they would be getting here?" he asks her.

She shrugs. "You know them they take a long time. Looks like she'll have to keep it with her until they do though."

"Wait what?" Rachel exclaims with wide eyes.

"In cases like these the bodily evidence has to stay in custody with the person who collected it until it's given to the police. You're the one that collected it so you get to babysit it!" Holly explains as if it's no big deal.

Rachel looks down at the cooler again and shudders, and smiles tightly at the Chief and Holly. She excuses herself and rushes out of the office before she can say something stupid.

* * *

 

Walking around all day with a severed penis in a cooler is an interesting experience.

Finn had no idea what was going on but was as curious as a puppy in a new home that she just had to show it to him.

He looked a little green when she walked away from him with a smirk.

Santana, being the morbid bitch she is, couldn't help making various jokes throughout the day. "Talk about taking a bite out of crime," she said at one point.

She was sitting in the main lobby with the cooler and Santana, taking a break, when she felt the need to inform Santana about the…elevator incident.

"I may have let Noah do something to me in the elevator today," she confessed nervously.

Santana thought about her words for a minute before looking at Rachel in shock. "Someone was talking about the elevators being down today. You little whore, you had sex!"

Rachel hides her face in embarrassment. "We didn't have sex…not intercourse anyway," she says into her hands.

Santana sits upright and becomes more interested. "Well what did he use? Fingers, mouth, or was it you. Rachel Berry did you give your boss a blowjob in the elevator?"

"No!" she shouts, getting the attention of some people around her. She looks around blushing and responds to Santana quietly.

"I'm not giving you details but it wasn't like that. It was stupid. Very very stupid."

"Then what the hell are you doing and what is the point of this?"

"There is no point! It's the thrill of the chase, that's all it is. And I'm done with it. It's not going to happen again," she says determined.

Their conversation is interrupted however when a car comes crashing through to in front of the hospital. They see a man stumble out of the car through the window and hurry outside to help him. He looks bruised, battered, and pale and has a towel covered in blood against his lower region. He collapses into an orderlies arms and Santana and Rachel gape in disbelief.

"I think the rapist just stumbled in," Santana mumbles to Rachel.

* * *

 

Rachel and Santana walked out of the OR room with the cooler, grinning with victory.

"Well looks like that guy will never be able to have sex ever again," Rachel said with satisfaction.

"What a shame, let's take a moment to mourn the loss for womankind," Santana replied sarcastically. They laugh as they go separate ways.

Rachel heads back over to the chief's office since the police have finally arrived. She's ready to get rid of this stupid cooler. She's thinking so much about other things that she's not watching where she's going, and runs into a wall of hard muscle. She stumbles back and looks up to see Puck.

"Sorry Dr. Berry. I wasn't paying attention there," he apologizes while grinning.

She looks away flushed. "Yeah um…it's ok I wasn't looking either." She moves around him to keep walking but feels his hand on her wrist to pull her back.

"Rachel, wait! We need to talk."

"No we don't Dr. Puckerman we don't need to do this. The elevator shouldn't have happened and it's not going to happen anymore. I know what you want. It's the thrill of the chase. I keep rejecting you and it makes everything interesting. We have this tension between us that you want to explore, but I won't be another notch at the expense of my career. Excuse me."

She rips her arm from his grasp and walks away without looking back.

She arrives at the chief's office where Holly is sitting with the police. They make her sign some papers before she can allow them to take the cooler.

She walks out of the office, hoping to feel some kind of weight be lifted off of her shoulders. All day since the elevator she's felt sick, and it's not because of she was carrying around a severed penis.

She just doesn't want to think about the real reason.

* * *

 

She walks into Alison's room to see Puck filling out some papers by her bedside.

"How's she doing Dr. Puckerman?" she asks as she sits on the bed.

He looks over at Alison with a little hope in his eyes. "I think she's going to make it. As long as she wakes up. Which she should…the question is when."

She fiddles with her hands, looking around the room and trying to find a way to ease the awkward tension. "Um…where's her family?" she asks.

"She doesn't have any family. Her parents are dead and she just moved here to Seattle about a month ago."

They both look at Alison sympathetically.

"You know…if this was my sister or something I would have given up everything to be there for her. Every surgery, it wouldn't matter. It sucks to know she's all alone in a new city," Puck ponders.

She tilts her head, considering his words. It's times like these that she likes him best, when she can see the sheer humanity behind the doctor. He cares about his patients more than he'll ever show.

He puts away the papers in his hands and gets up to sit on the edge of the bed with Rachel. She looks at him cautiously as he takes her hand and squeezes it.

"It's not the thrill of the chase," he says as he looks into her eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"It is not the thrill of the chase," he emphasizes. "It's…your eyes. And how they light up whenever you get ahold of a particularly interesting case. Your hands because I think they're cute, but strong enough to be a surgeon's hand. It's how you and Dr. Lopez sit there and laugh your asses off when Dr. Pierce uses hearts under her exclamation points for her chart reviews and Dr. Jones gets pissed. It's…how you just sit there and watch the babies in the nursery to relieve stress-"

"You…you've seen me doing that?"

He nods sheepishly. "Yeah you…it was kind of cute ok I wasn't trying to be a creep I just happened to be over there. The point is that I'm not trying to play games Rachel. I just want a chance."

She searches his face for any signs of him trying to be devious but all she sees is sincerity. She wants to believe that she's risking so many things for something worthwhile but she just doesn't know.

"Maybe," she says sternly.

"Maybe?" he replies confused.

"Yes. Maybe. We have to start very very slow. No more elevator incidents and we keep this very quiet. You…you have to prove it's not the thrill of the chase before I let you catch me Dr. Puckerman."

"Ok. I'll do that."

They stare at each other for a minute, letting their deal sink in. She doesn't want to let herself smile, in fear that it'll lead to something bad like them kissing. Sure enough he smiles at her and cups her cheek with his hand. She doesn't stop him as he leans in, almost too weak to resist. That's the problem with this man…she can't say no.

Thankfully, they're interrupted when they hear a groan coming from the head of the bed. They separate quickly and look to see Alison fluttering her eyes open and look around nervously. Puck gets up and takes her hand to give it a squeeze. She looks at him confused but he smiles warmly to calm her fears.

"Welcome back Alison," he tells her softly.

Rachel looks on with a smile. She gets up to go get one of the nurses, and feels that the terrible feeling she's had in her chest all afternoon has decreased significantly.

She won't admit why though.


	4. Chapter 4

When the cab pulls up to the tall brick building, Rachel sighs and prepares herself. She stares out the window for a minute, trying to think of an excuse to not get out of the cab and go back home.

She could say there was an emergency at the hospital…there's always an emergency at the hospital. The thing is she's been at the hospital long enough this week to the point where they're starting to give interns a max number of hours.

She could also say she has a date. Noah did ask her to have dinner with him tonight after all. Ironically enough the fact that she had to come here gave her a save to get out of having dinner with him. She's not exactly sure if they're ready for that.

He's secretly brought her coffee in the mornings, they've had lunches, but having dinner with him seems like a whole new ballgame. She knows what having dinner with him will lead to. He suggested going to this great Italian restaurant she's mentioned, cracking open a bottle of wine and enjoying the night.

She knows it'll end in sex because he murmured the dinner plans in that deep husky voice of his.

This is not to say that she doesn't want to have sex with him. She does. She's had a couple dreams about it honestly that have left her extremely sexually frustrated. Everything between them has been chaste for the past couple weeks, because they're in public so much AND the boundaries she set between them. But he's proving himself, slowly but surely. She knows he isn't seeing anyone else because he doesn't have the time to do so. When he's not in the hospital he's wooing her or sleeping. And she's not just saying that because she's egotistical. The man is a surgeon…a highly demanded surgeon at that.

"Miss…isn't this your stop?" her thoughts are interrupted by the cab driver waiting impatiently for his payment. She smiles sheepishly and gives him the appropriate amount of money before thanking him and getting out of the car.

She walks slowly into the building and heads over to the receptionist. The older woman looks up and her eyes widen in surprise to see Rachel.

"It feels like ages since you've been here Ms. Berry. It's nice to see you," the woman greets her.

Rachel laughs. "Its only been a couple weeks. I've been busy with work and everything that's why I haven't been around. How is she?"

"Oh I see…hot shot doctor! She's doing…well. She had a good day yesterday but today not so much. When I saw her earlier I was a patient that was due for surgery and she was yelling at one of the other orderlies to go prep me for my procedure. I can only imagine what it was like when she was a practicing surgeon."

Rachel winces at the woman's story. She knows how difficult things can get. It's not easy to be here 24 hours a day…this is why she doesn't come around that often.

"She in the living room with everyone else playing games…except she's probably not playing games. You know her. You can go right in."

Rachel nods and thanks the woman before making her way to the living room. She passes a few nurses and helpers who say hello and ask how she is. Everyone knows her around here because of how high profile the situation was and the precautions that needed to be taken so everyone would keep quiet.

When she gets to the living room she sees a few people sitting around tables and playing board games like chess. They seem quite content, which is a relief because some of the times she's been here there has been the odd person that gets rowdy.

She looks over the corner and armchair that is seated in front of the fireplace, with a woman looking silently into the fire, completely unaware of the world around her.

It's a wonder to her how Shelby never ages. Her long brown hair is swept up in an elegant bun and besides a few wrinkles on her face from stress, and some stray gray hairs you would never know how old the woman was.

She walks over to her and sits in the armchair that's across from her. When she sits down, she's directly in Shelby's line of sight but it doesn't seem like she's recognized that Rachel is even there. This is no surprise to her. It was like this before everything happened in the first place.

"Shelby," she calls out to get her attention.

She doesn't respond and keeps looking at the fire.

"Shelby!" Rachel calls louder.

Something within her snaps and she looks up at Rachel with blank eyes.

"Oh…hello. Are you the intern who supposed to be on my service today? Because you're late. We don't tolerate lateness around here," Shelby says to Rachel crisply.

Rachel sighs and sags against the chair. This is why she doesn't come to see her.

"Yes Shelby I'm your intern for today. I'm sorry I'm late but-"

"That's Dr. Berry to you! It's incredibly unprofessional to be calling me by my first name how dare you!"

"Mom you need to calm down-"

"Mom? I'm not your mother. I have a daughter. She's 10 years old and she's the only child I have. You're not her thank you very much. You know what? You're banned from my service. What's your name?"

"…It's Rachel Berry mam," Rachel responds frustrated.

Shelby stops, mouth agape, and stares at Rachel for a minute. She glares at her, narrowing her eyes and analyzing her.

"Get out," she hisses.

Rachel sits up and looks her in the eye. "You have to stop doing this mom. Every time I come lately it's the same. You have a daughter…that's me. I'm not 10 anymore…in fact I'm out of medical school and an intern at Mt. Sinai. You're not a surgeon anymore mom. This is a nursing home. You have early onset Alzheimer's. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Shelby looks at Rachel in shock before burying her face into her hands. Her shoulders are shaking and soon Rachel can hear the sobs coming from her mother. She sighs. This usually doesn't happen. She usually ends up yelling at Rachel for saying something she doesn't like and she leaves on account of Shelby's blood pressure rising entirely too much.

One of the nurses notices their argument and comes over to check on Shelby. "I should probably get her up to her room. It hasn't been a good day today," she tells Rachel sympathetically before helping Shelby up and walking her out of the room.

Rachel gets up from the chair and storms out of the living room and back towards the lobby. As she passes the receptionist's desk she turns towards the woman and tells her, "Can you just call me next time she's lucid? That would be a great help." She doesn't let the woman finish and walks out the front door back onto the New York streets.

She's walking home and completely frustrated with everything. It sucks enough that she and Shelby never had a good enough relationship, but now she doesn't even remember her in the slightest. In some ways, Rachel finds it fitting.

What's frustrating is that she's the only person on this earth who knows about her condition.

She remembers being in France, on a rare vacation and taking a break from the hustle and bustle of medical school. In fact she was sitting in a café eating a crepe with a charming old French man who was telling her hilarious stories of his childhood in the beautiful city.

Her phone happened to ring, which was a rarity. It was her mother…also a rarity.

She demanded that Rachel return to New York immediately because she needed her help. She told her flat out on the phone she had Alzheimer's and it was getting worse. So bad that she couldn't work anymore and she needed Rachel with her to make a plan.

So she said goodbye to her new friend and the wonderful city she'd only had 4 days so far to explore to go help her mother who, if she's being honest, she didn't owe anything to after everything that happened in her childhood.

They decided she would go live in a home, Rachel would be able to live in the brownstone during her internship, and she would be her power of attorney. But she couldn't tell a soul. Shelby was absolutely adamant about that…Rachel couldn't even tell her father.

So she kept the secret, making excuses and coming up with stories to explain her mother's absence from the world as she knew it when really she was still right in the city.

Her eyes burned and she bit her lip to prevent the tears she knew wanted to come. It wouldn't do any good to cry because it wouldn't change anything. Her mother was going to get worse and it would take an absolute miracle for that not to happen. She would have to keep carrying this secret, giving a fake smile whenever people like Chief Schuester made mention of her.

If she's honest with herself, this secret is one of the things holding her back from fully investing herself in anything with Noah. When she was in a relationship she expected full, upfront honesty and trust. She knows she wouldn't be able to give him that if she can't tell him this…and she knows she can't. He would care too much, want to help her, to fix it. But that can't be done.

She pulls out her phone and sends a text to Brittany and Santana, asking them to meet her at the bar that's not too far from the hospital. She knows they're not at work because the 3 of them got off while Finn and Kurt had to stay. She feels bad for Finn…not really for Kurt.

Brittany and Santana watched in shock and amusement as Rachel threw back her fourth tequila shot of the night. Santana was mostly impressed she didn't ask for any salt or lime.

"Sometimes I think you're a little dull Berry but then you throw down like that and well…you rise," she compliments her.

Rachel smirks and put down the shot glass. "You of all people should know I'm not as innocent as I look Santana."

Santana laughs in recognition while Brittany furrows her eyebrows in confusion, not knowing what the girls are referring to. "Touché Dr. Berry. So what's up why'd you tell us to meet you here?"

"Do I need a reason to hang out with you guys? I just figured we've been so busy with work and surgeries that we need to mellow out. Enjoy the night off."

"Wait I'm confused. You were mad when Jones gave the three of us the night off. You said it gave Finn and Kurt unfair advantages and stuff," Brittany asked her.

Rachel took a sip of her gin and tonic and shrugged. "Whatever…we'll get our advantages. I'm not so mad anymore."

Santana looked on suspiciously, knowing that Rachel didn't really care that much about having fun and relaxing. She was a lot like her-ambitious, determined. They fought hard for the surgeries they got, slept in on-call rooms even during their off hours to get first dibs on surgeries. They do not relax.

Rachel finished off the rest of her gin and tonic and looked blearily at Brittany and Santana who were still on their 2nd drinks. She could feel the effects of the alcohol running through her veins. "Why are you two going so slow? God Santana I thought you could do better than that!"

She looked around the bar, noticing that it was pretty quiet besides the voices of the people in the establishment. "Hey bartender! Why isn't there any music playing? We should put on some music," she yells to the man behind the bar. He quirks his eyebrow at her and shrugs, going over to the jukebox in the corner and putting in some selections.

She hears the opening chords to a song she knows well and smiles brightly at her two co-workers who continue to stare at her as if they've never seen her before.

"Don't you guys love this song? I love Elton John. Sometimes I want to reach into the TV and steal his pink glasses."

Santana snorts while Brittany smiles. "I totally understand! They're really pretty. I wonder if you can buy them somewhere."

Rachel nods enthusiastically at Brittany's suggestion. "We should go look one day! There has to be somewhere that has them. No one ever understands why I like them so much. At least you do Brittany!"

At this Rachel gets up from her seat and walks around the table to come sit on Brittany's lap and give her a hug. "You're so nice Brittany. You know what? You and Finn can come live with me I was being stupid before!"

Brittany laughs and hugs Rachel back. "Thanks Rachel!"

Rachel sits up and perks at the recognition of the chorus of the song. "Guys here comes my favorite part! We should sing it!" Santana sighs and hides her face as Rachel stands up and starts wailing.

_She's got electric boots_

_A mohair suit_

_You know I read it in a magazine, oh, ho_

_B-b-Bennie and the Jets_

She continues to rock to the beat as the song goes on, singing along to the lyrics every now and then. Brittany cheers her on while Santana continues to hide her face in embarrassment from the attention they're getting.

"I thought you could sing Berry. This isn't a very good indication of your so called talent."

Rachel stops at this comment and looks at Santana with narrowed eyes. "Are you challenging me?"

Santana shrugs. "Maybe I am."

Rachel purses her lips and stands up as straight as she can despite her drunkenness. "Well I never back down from a challenge. I guess I'll have to prove you wrong."

She flips her hair and clears her throat, and without music or any indication begins to sing.

The bar hears the young doctor croon and turn their full attention to her, everyone becoming silent. Santana and Brittany sit back with amazement on their faces, having no idea their colleague could sing that well. Santana smirks and shakes her head, knowing that Rachel definitely proved her wrong. It didn't matter. She may be a better singer but they would see who would end up being the best doctor.

Brittany clapped her hands before Rachel could even get to the chorus of the song. She didn't completely recognize it, but once she got to the familiar chorus Brittany immediately realized what it was and it felt fitting for all of them.

_Even if it ain't all it seems, I got a pocketful of dreams  
Baby, I'm from New York  
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of  
There's nothing you can't do  
Now you're in New York  
These streets will make you feel brand new  
Big lights will inspire you  
Hear it for New York, New York, New York!_

The crowd whooped in recognition and delight while Rachel smiled at them in happiness. She doesn't sing very often. The rare times that she does it's in the comfort of her shower where no one can hear her…and even in those cases she has to be in a very good mood. She doesn't know why she needed to sing tonight-she could of easily blew off Santana's comment and moved on. But something about singing made her feel rebellious. It reminded her of when she was 16 and thought having her name in lights on Broadway was all she could ever want. It really didn't hurt that her ambitions pissed her mom off…in fact it encouraged it.

It was a catch-22 with her mother. She was too good to be just a singer but not good enough to be a surgeon. She could never reconcile it with herself so she decided to prove her wrong with the harder of the two. She knew she was smart enough to do anything she wanted and she would prove her wrong.

Too bad she would never remember.

She continued to sing, basking in the praise of the patrons of the bar. She looked at Santana and Brittany and gave them a genuine smile that they returned while she let out the last note of the song.

The crow cheered and clapped while Rachel blushed and bowed humbly. She did a small curtsy and hurried back to her seat at the laughter of her two colleagues.

"Ok ok you proved me wrong Berry. I stand corrected," Santana said while throwing her hands up in surrender.

Rachel shook her head grinning and began to look around the bar. Her eyes locked on a familiar face standing near the entrance and she blushed furiously at the realization that they saw her little performance.

Brittany followed Rachel's gaze and said excitedly, "Hey look it's Dr. Puckerman and Dr. Rutherford."

Santana looked at Rachel in amusement while she turned around and hid her face in her hands. Brittany waved at the 2 men and Santana laughed as Rachel continued to just shake her head and mutter "Why me?"

Her life was so fucked.  _  
_

They were having a secret staring contest.

They both knew it would be too suspicious to be around each other, and Rachel knew with the alcohol in her system she would do something else stupid like jump him in the middle of the bar and blow their cover. Brittany and Dr. Rutherford had no idea about their relationship. In fact, Santana didn't even know about their secret dates. She of course knew about the past sex they had, but she and Noah had decided to not tell anyone about their burgeoning relationship. If anyone found out, especially the wrong person, the consequences would not be good.

She was sipping another gin and tonic, talking quietly with the girls and turned her gaze back over to Noah. She looked over only to see him staring right at her, leaning against the bar as he sipped his bar. Dr. Rutherford was nowhere to be found.

She leaned back against her chair and watched as his gaze became more heated. She squirmed, feeling the ache that had been plaguing her for weeks whenever she looked at this man return. She licked her lips and traced the rim of her glass. She was playing with fire, she knew this.

He smirked and motioned his head over to the side of the bar where a secluded hallway held the bathrooms. She shook her head grinning and he pouted with a pleading look in his eye. She sighed and looked at Brittany and Santana who all this time weren't paying attention to her and were wrapped up in their own conversation.

"Um, I'm going to go to the bathroom real quick girls. I'll be right back," she interrupted.

They nodded in acknowledgement and continued their conversation while she got up from her chair and meandered to the hallway. When she got there she could see him leaning against the wall in the dim light. She felt her body heat up just at the sight of him-he was wearing a tight t-shirt that defined his arms, something she didn't get to enjoy too often.

He looked up at her with a genuine smile and held his hand out to her. She took it, but let out a surprised "oof" as he pulled her to him and wrapped his arm around her waist. She looked up shocked and he simply smiled and kissed her lips softly. She kept her eyes open at first, making sure no one they knew was around, but closed her eyes and relaxed into his embrace. He let go of her hand, using his hand to tightly grab her hip and bring her closer. She moaned at the heat she could feel coming from his body and grabbed onto his arms to steady herself. She broke the kiss as she felt her lungs needing oxygen and Puck immediately latched his lips on her neck, sucking at her pulse point. She mewled in frustration, feeling herself becoming more aroused. They needed to get out of here before she exploded. But it wasn't smart and she knew that.

Puck raised his head from her neck and whispered in her ear, "Let's go back to your place," He coaxed her with his hand, slipping it under her shirt and stroked her skin. She gasped at the heat, realizing how much she missed him touching her like this even though they'd only been together in this way 2 times. He kneaded the skin of her hip and pressed his lips to hers, opening her mouth with his tongue. He turns them around to pin Rachel against the wall and she moans as he grinds into her. The moves he's making on her are convincing her to sneak out of this bar and take him home with her. She's spent a lot of time trying to eliminate this aching, burning feeling at her core but nothing works, and nothing feels as good as it did with him.

He breaks away from her and holds her tightly to him, leaning his forehead against hers as they both catch their breath. She looks up at him through her eyelashes and smiles lightly at him. He returns the sentiment and nuzzles his nose against hers, tugging her even closer to him.

"Your voice is beautiful. I didn't know you could sing like that, I haven't been able to keep my eyes off you all night," he murmurs.

Rachel frowns at this statement. "Because I can sing? I don't understand."

Puck sighs. "You're fucking beautiful. Do you know that? And you have the promise to be a great surgeon. You're determined…when you subtly argue with Dr. Jones about getting onto a surgery I get so turned that I want to just pull you into the nearest on call room. But you just…care…about people. I know you try to play it off like you don't sometimes but I see it when you look at people. You care in your own way. You being able to sing just makes you…the perfect woman."

Rachel's breath hitches at his speech. He kisses her gently before she can say anything, a soft kiss that is so quick it's almost like it never happened.

"Let me take you home. We've been going slow for weeks and I respected your wishes Rach, but I'm not going anywhere."

She closes her eyes and turns her face away from him. She lets go of his arms and pushes him away from her so she can escape from his grasp and walk away. Puck looks at Rachel confused as she backs away from him.

"I'm drunk Noah…I don't know what I'm doing, there are too many people we know here. This wasn't good. I said we have to go slow and if you can't respect that then we should just end this now."

She walks away without waiting for a response and doesn't turn back as she returns to the table where Brittany and Santana are now joined by Dr. Rutherford. She grabs her wallet calls their attention to her. "I'm not feeling great guys I'm going to get home. Too much alcohol I guess. I'll see you at the hospital tomorrow."

"Do you need me to go with you?" Brittany asks worriedly. "I mean we're going to be roommates anyway!"

Rachel declines fervently and hurries out of the bar quickly, seeing Puck's surly gaze directed at her at the corner of her eye.

She feels a shiver down her spine.

As she sits in the cab on the way home, she knows within herself that Puck should be with her. Everything in her body is calling for him. For his hands to run through her hair, his legs to hold her up, and his mouth to whisper in her ear.

Her visit with her mother stirred her today, and seeing him right after was a terrible coincidence. She's never all there after seeing Shelby. She's jaded, bitter, insecure, everything she has worked hard not to be since she stopped living with her mother years ago.

Sometimes she's jealous of her disease. It's sick, but she wishes she could forget every terrible memory. She'd be healthier…happier…maybe she'd let Noah in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs used are Bennie and the Jetts by Elton John and Empire State of Mind Pt 2 by Alicia Keys


	5. Chapter 5

She knows she's stupid. This is why she doesn't drink tequila.

When she wakes up the next day with a hangover and a pot of coffee in her kitchen she knows tequila made her do two stupid things.

First, telling Brittany that it was ok for her and Finn to live with her.

Two was stopping herself from not waking up with Dr. Noah Puckerman this morning.

When she walked out of that bar and saw the look he gave her, she knew that things were a little screwed up now. The ball was in her court. He was done trying to chase her. Everytime he did she would let him get only so close before running away again.

She checked her phone when she woke up and saw a couple texts from Brittany, Santana, and Finn but nothing from the only person she wanted to hear from.

x

He completely ignores her existence. Which is generally the norm between interns and attendings but he at least gives her knowing glances, smiles, and winks. After giving rectal exams and filling out charts they're honestly the best part of her day and she doesn't realize this until he won't even look at her.

She isn't on his service for two weeks and she knows that he has something to do with it. Every time Jones gives them their assignments she always says that Dr. Puckerman explicitly requested someone else like Kurt, Brittany, or Finn. Never Rachel though.

The only time she gets to see any sort of emotion on his face is when she sits in the gallery and watches his surgeries.

There's one particular day he's doing a craniometry on an already high risk pregnant woman who was in a car accident. The gallery is full, watching as he tries to remove the blood in her brain while the on call OB/GYN monitors the baby. Everyone's on edge but she manages to get a seat in the front.

He's completely focused and taking his own damn time, which bugs the hell out of everyone in the room except for her. In the short time she's known him she's learned that you can be completely calm if your life is in Noah Puckerman's hands. He's a cocky son of a bitch because he's smart…and he knows what he's doing. He just likes to take his time doing it to keep the suspense going.

Everything is fine until the baby's blood pressure starts increasing rapidly. Everyone in the OR is on edge and the OB is yelling at Puck to control what he's doing so she can save the baby. He won't stop.

"Dr. Puckerman I'm going to have to deliver the baby if this gets any worse," the woman tells him earnestly.

Even with a mask covering most of his face Rachel can tell that is face is mostly passive. "Just wait," he tells her nonchalantly.

Everyone in the gallery is murmuring and on the edge of their seats but Rachel is sitting back and relaxed. If there was any reason to worry his eyebrows would be more scrunched and they would be in the shit if his left eyebrow was arched.

Yes she knows that much about this man.

He concentrates on a particular spot for a few more minutes before declaring that everything he can do is done. The OB sets to work on lowering the blood pressure while Puck closes up and cleans himself up.

This is the point where everyone is talking about how callous he is for just ignoring what's going on with the baby. But once he closes up she smirks as he asks the OB how everything is going and starts to help her.

The room goes a little quiet after that.

x

She waits outside the OR room and watches as nurses and other doctors leave the room. They all look a little defeated, and when she sees the OB leave she has an angry look on her face. That won't help things in the future.

Once she's sure everyone is gone she walks into the room where she sees Puck sitting on top of the counter, next to the sink where they wash their hands to scrub in. He's holding his scrub cap, twisting it in his hands with a pensive look on his face.

He's blaming himself.

Rachel is not experienced by any means…she's an intern. But she knows for a fact it's not Puck's fault the woman and the baby died. It was a miracle they didn't die instantly in the first place. She had many critical injuries…they just couldn't hold on any longer.

She walks closer to him and he looks up and sees her there. His shoulders slump and he shakes his head. "I know it wasn't my fault. She had internal bleeding in the first place and the baby was breeching and it was just a mess. I did what I was supposed to do."

She closes the distance between them and stands between his legs, putting her hands on his thighs. "Then why do you have that look on your face?" she asks him quietly.

He sighs. "She has a husband and 2 children. I told them I would do everything I could to save them. And sometimes that sucks to say because your everything isn't enough sometimes. I know for a fact everyone in that gallery completely doubted everything I did in there and I know they'll think it was my fault. I also know that everyone considers me to be some neuro god and I hate that. I'm not a god. I'm just a man. And I can't save everyone."

He turns his gaze away from her and looks down at his lap, fiddling with his scrub cap. Rachel looks at him softly and brings her hands to cup his cheeks. She tilts his face until he's looking at her again, and places a gentle kiss on his cheek, letting it linger as long as she can.

"I'm sorry…" she whispers in his ear. She pulls back to look at him and sees his eyebrows are furrowed.

"You were the only one in that gallery that believed in me you know. You were the only one that wasn't worried, freaking out, or scared. And when she flatlined I looked at you. I could only see how you were looking at me…and it pushed me to save her. Because you see me Rachel…not Dr. Noah Puckerman, one of the best neurosurgeons in the country. You just see me."

She smiles lightly and traces his jawbone with her finger. "I'm so sorry about that night in the bar," she whispers. "There's just…there's so much you don't know Noah. And I can't tell you even if I want to. I know this is cliché but honestly that was all me not you. You're wonderful and I should let you take me out to dinner and take me home. I know you're not going to just leave."

He looks up into her eyes and lets go of his scrub cap to latch onto her hips and bring her closer to him. He leans in and lays his forehead against hers so that he can look at her closely.

"If there are things you can't tell me…I'm just going to have to trust you ok? But don't push me away Rachel."

She nods sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

They stand in silence together for a few minutes, enjoying the small moment of peace they know they won't have for the rest of the day. Rachel leans back and slightly releases herself from Puck's hold though when her beeper goes off.

"I have to go," she tells him regretfully. "But you should come over tonight. I'll cook you dinner. I know it's not going to a great restaurant but you bring the wine and it'll all end in the same way," she finishes coyly with a wink.

He smirks and nods while getting down from the counter. "I'll be the guy with the wine on your doorstep at 8:30."

They smile at each other before Rachel rushes out the door.

x

"Can we move in tonight?"

Rachel stops what she's doing and looks up to see Brittany and Finn's eager puppy dog faces.

Why did she agree to this?

"No," she says firmly and goes back to the chart she was reading.

"But we really need to get a move in Rach so when can we do it?" Brittany asks patiently."

"Tomorrow."

"Well what's the difference if we do it tonight?"

"You just can't tonight ok? I'm busy, I have things to do in the house that require it to be empty and not have you guys roaming around and making noise. You're already ruining my routine and peace so let me have one last night ok?"

Brittany and Finn stare at Rachel perplexed for a moment until a light bulb goes off in Brittany's head. "You have a date. You're trying to have sex aren't you?" she asks excitedly.

Rachel puts her pen down frustrated and looks up at Brittany's excited face and Finn's grimace. "How is that any of your business? Just don't move in tonight. End of story. Move in tomorrow night and I'll even help you guys with your stuff."

The two of them look at her apologetically and sheepishly, seeing that she's mad now. And no one really likes Rachel when she's angry. They simply nod and rush away whispering together.

x

She kind of can't wait for this date tonight and she knows Puck can't either.

She has to give them credit. With all of the secret, heated glances they've been giving each other all day they should have snuck into an on call room when they had the chance. Apparently they have amazing self-control.

She's mapping it in her head. She'll make something simple because she hasn't really been grocery shopping this week but she knows she has enough to make lasagna with some salad. She can pick up bread on the way home and make garlic bread.

Besides Puck won't care what she makes. They'll be lucky if they make through dinner and he doesn't take her on table.

But she's locking the door when he gets in. Deadbolting it even. She wouldn't put it past Brittany and Finn to try and come and simultaneously move in and find out who her date is. Those little sneaks even told Santana about it.

"You have a date tonight? How do you have time to date? Or find people to date. Does he work here?" Santana interrogated her during lunch.

Rachel stopped mid chew of her salad, alarmed. "How did you know about that?"

Santana raised her eyebrow. "Tweedle dee and tweedle dum don't really shut up. So spill who's the guy?"

Rachel cleared her throat. "He's no one you know."

Santana looked at her with narrowed eyes. She watches Rachel for a minute before a realization hits her. "It's fucking Puckerman isn't it you whore!"

Rachel drops her fork and shakes her head. "I don't know what you're talking about Santana."

"Shut up you're having a date with Dr. Puckerman. I thought you ended that shit. Are you trying to completely sabotage your career?"

"No…no one is supposed to know anyway. And if you keep your mouth shut my career won't be ruined ok?"

"Whatever happened to the thrill of the chase? And what happens when people do find out…because they will Rachel you can't be naïve enough to think they won't-"

"Shut up!" Rachel hisses. "No one is going to find out because we're going to be careful. Look I've spent some time with him, I like him, and I've been careful. I wouldn't do this if I didn't think it was a good idea because I love being a surgeon Santana and I wouldn't risk that for just any average joe."

Santana looks at her shocked. "You actually like him don't you?"

Rachel shrugs. "Yeah. I do like him."

Santana shakes her head. "You're so fucked if people find out."

Rachel sighs. "I know."

x

She figures that when in doubt you should go with a little black dress.

In some ways, she's forgotten how to dress since her internship started because she doesn't really wear anything outside of scrubs and the occasional sweater and jeans. Luckily she had some sense of fashion before she started working and her closet actually has some options-particularly a black dress she bought a long time ago and has been waiting to show off. Puck is just the person to show it off to.

She slips on the fabric and smoothes over the bodice, loving the way it hugs her frame. The dress ends mid thigh, allowing her to show off her legs and favorite red high heels.

She should be ashamed by how obvious she's being with the way the strapless dress pushes up her breasts but she's trying to be more honest with herself. She's determined to end the night somewhere in this house with Puck naked and on top or under her.

Well…he could also be behind her. That works too.

She can't even feel bad about that because she knows Puck is thinking the same exact thing.

The lasagna is done and cooling off, and the garlic bread is in the oven. She lit up the fireplace and dimmed the lights in the living room to set a mood. Yeah whatever she's desperate.

Like clockwork and magic, the doorbell rings when she's taking out the garlic bread. She takes a deep breath, smoothes out her dress and fluffs her hair as she quickly walks to the door. She pulls it open to find Puck leaning against the frame holding a bottle of wine and wearing his tell tale smirk. She smiles blissfully as he walks in the house wearing a white dress shirt that shows off his body quite nicely and slacks. He looks around the entryway and living room before turning towards Rachel and reaching for her. He draws her into his arms and kisses her softly.

"Hi," he murmurs.

She nuzzles her face into his neck and takes in his scent. He's just showered and she can tell because he smells a little like Irish Spring and that clean scent is kind of a turn on for her. She grins and lays a kiss on his neck before lifting her head up to look at him. "You hungry?" she asks.

"Starved baby. What are we eating?"

She leads him into the kitchen by the hand and he walks in to see the table set up and the aroma of lasagna wafting in the room. He groans appreciatively at the sight of home cooked food.

"Did you know lasagna is really high on my list of favorite foods?" he asks her curiously.

"Actually I didn't. But I'm not surprised…everyone loves lasagna and I make a fantastic one."

"Oh I'll be the judge of that babe," he tells her as he sits down.

x

Apparently lasagna is an aphrodisiac…who knew?

She's been sitting across from him as he eats and the moans that he's been letting out make her think he's already having his first orgasm of the night. She's been drinking more wine than eating lasagna, mostly because she hates eating a lot on dates. She also hates eating so much before she has sex. Thankfully Puck picked up a big bottle of fantastic wine, so she's buzzed and heady enough to be ridiculous and wild with him on every surface of the house.

He finally finishes the last bite and lets out a sigh of satisfaction. "That was fuckin good. Best lasagna next to my mom's and that's a pretty huge compliment."

She smirks and gets up from the table to clear their plates and put them in the sink. She knows she doesn't feel like washing up the dishes but it's really only a couple of plates and she certainly won't do it tomorrow morning. She's drying up the dishes and putting them away when she feels Puck's arms encircle her waist and pull her back into his embrace. She sighs as he trails kisses up her neck until his lips reach her ear.

"Stop drying those dishes and comes sit with me," he whispers huskily.

She giggles at his tickling breath on her neck and puts down the dish and towel. He leads her off into the living room, grabbing their glasses of wine along the way. They settle on her couch, and Rachel wants to feel unsettled by the way Puck is heatedly staring at her as they sip their wine, but all it does is build the anticipation she's felt since this afternoon. She takes her last sip and puts the glass down, grinning coyly at Puck.

"So…you haven't even asked about dessert."

He raises an eyebrow. "Oh really? And what's on the menu Dr. Berry?"

She doesn't answer him, but instead moves from her spot on the couch to climb on top of him. She settles on his lap and toys with the collar of his shirt, touching the buttons and twisting them lightly.

"Oh you know a little bit of this," she mentions as she leans down and kisses his neck. "A little bit of that," she whispers against it.

She can hear the groan he lets out deep in his throat but pays no mind as she bites and licks at his neck and roams her hands over his chest. She gets to the top button of his shirt to slowly and carefully unbutton it. She lifts her head from his neck to look at him in the eye as she takes off his shirt and leans into him slightly with a steady gaze until their lips are brushing against each other.

She can feel one hand kneading her hip as the other one trails down leaving heat that pierces even through the fabric of the dress. She wants him all over her.

He raises the hem of her dress and the feeling of his hand on her bare skin like this shouldn't be such a shock to the system but it is. She gasps against his lips and pushes his shirt off his shoulders as she kisses him desperately. They cling to each other, neither wanting to let go but knowing that when they do it can only get better. She opens her mouth and immediately his tongue enters and begins dueling with her, massaging the roof of her mouth.

Puck breaks the kiss, lifting up her dress even more until it's above her hips, staring into her eyes the whole time. Rachel smirks at the look on his face and gets up from his lap, not bothering to fix the skirt of her dress that is completely above her waist and showing her blood red lace panties.

She reaches for the zipper at the side of her dress and pulls it down slowly, loving that Puck's eyes are following the downward motion. She bites her lip as she lets the dress fall to the ground and she's left in just her panties and high heels.

Puck slouches in his seat on the couch, gripping the pillow next to him as he stares at Rachel's almost naked form.

"Unbutton your pants," she mutters lowly.

Their eyes don't leave each other while Puck undoes his belt and slips the button through the hole to free his slacks. Rachel bends down to her knees, shooing away his hands and finishes him off by pulling down the zipper. She tugs the pants down and Puck gets the hint, lifting up his hips slightly so that she can pull them completely, along with his boxers.

His cock springs free and Rachel immediately bites her lip in contemplation. She can feel herself getting wetter because honestly Puck has a good package on him and he knows how to use it. Damn.

She kisses up his left thigh while her fingers trickle up his right thigh towards his dick. But her eyes are on him watching for his reactions. His breathing is a little harder, yet controlled. She wants him to lose his mind though.

When she gets to where he wants her to be, she grins at him devilishly before merely taking a lick at the tip of his cock.

"Fuck, Rachel," he hisses.

She continues to tease him, licking timidly at the tip while her hand massages the base. Puck groans, laying his head back against the couch. The woman is completely challenging his self-control but he won't let her win.

"Rach, you need to do something. Now," Puck growls.

Rachel looks at him innocently, as if she isn't purposely teasing him. She keeps his gaze while she takes his whole tip in her mouth and sucks, and continues to suck down the length of his cock. Puck moans loudly and grips Rachel's hair so he can see her bob up and down his dick. She swallows around him while gripping his inner thigh and Puck shudders.

"Fuck, your mouth baby. Fuck."

He holds her head still and pistons his hips, letting himself fuck her mouth. He watches his cock slip in and out of her mouth and closes his eyes before he loses complete control. He hears her moan loudly and opens his eyes to see her looking at him and tweaking her nipple. He pulls her off of him and lets her breathe for a second.

"Why'd you stop?" she asks confused.

"Take off your panties," he orders. "Need to fuck you Rachel."

Rachel leans back so that she's lying on the floor and straightens out her legs into the air. She slips off the scrap of lace and trails it up her legs until they're hanging off of one foot. Her feet find themselves back on the floor with her legs bended at the knee but spread apart.

Her hand trails from down her neck to the valley between her breasts, onto her stomach where she toys with her belly button. She continues her quest, watching Puck gaze at her hungrily while he slips off his shoes and pants. He reaches inside the pocket of his slacks for a condom just as Rachel lightly touches her clit and lets out a breathy moan.

"Hurry Noah," she whispers.

He slips on the condom and gets down on the floor in between Rachel's legs, towering over her. The hand that is moving over her pussy gets grabbed along with the other and Puck holds them over her head. Rachel wraps her legs around Puck's waist in an effort to get him where she wants, but Puck decides to tease her too by nudging the tip of his cock against her wet opening. She whines in frustration and looks at him pleadingly.

"How badly do you want it? Tell me," he orders.

Her eyes widen. "What?"

He bends down to take her lips harshly and grinds his hips against hers, teasing her more. She moans into his mouth and strains to get her arms free but he won't let go. He pulls back from the kiss and nuzzles his head into her neck, nipping at her pulse point. Rachel's breath quickens and she grinds against Puck faster.

"Noah… _God_  just fuck me already please!"

"How bad do you want me to?"

"So bad. So so bad I've been thinking about it all day," she moans. He grins in satisfaction and positions himself at her opening. He enters her swiftly and they both moan in relief.

Puck begins a steady pace against Rachel while she locks her legs around his waist. He holds her close to him so that they're chest to chest, kissing every part of her he can reach.

"Tell me what you thought about Rachel. Did you think about sucking my cock? You were fucking eager for that baby," he says against her collarbone.

Rachel hardly has the presence of mind to answer him, but moans loudly at his words.

"I wanted to taste you," she lets out. She groans in surprise when she feels his mouth around her nipple, nipping at it slightly. She undulates her hips against his, gasping when she feels him hit just the right spot.

"Right there oh god. Noah, fuck me harder please," she begs.

Instead of acquiescing to her wishes, Puck stops his motions completely. He lets go of Rachel's hands and holds himself over her on the floor. He reaches for one of her legs, unhooking it from behind his back and places it over his shoulder.

He rocks against her again, this time with a harder and more brutal pace that takes Rachel by surprise, so much so that her mouth opens in an attempt to moan or gasp but her voice won't actually work. She merely pants as Puck continuously drives himself harder and harder into her, hitting the exact spot she wants every time. All that can be heard in the room at this point is their breathing and slaps of their bodies coming together.

Puck closes his eyes, knowing that if he keeps looking at Rachel he won't last much longer. She's like a teenage wet dream underneath him, and while he usually has a lot more self-control the rules have completely flipped with this woman.

When he opens his eyes again seconds later he finds Rachel's back completely arched with her hand tweaking her breasts. Her other hand seems to be reaching for something to hold onto, but all she can grab is the rug underneath her.

"You need to come Rach. Fuck you're tight. You wanna come baby?" he grits out.

"Yes!" she gasps out. "Make me come please, I'm so close."

Puck reaches down to Rachel's pussy and rubs lightly at her clit. From the soft touch, Rachel jerks harshly against Puck with a moan and hiss of yes. He continues to flick at the nub while keeping his rhythm, feeling her start to clench around him. They both pant, looking each other in the eye as they fall over the edge. Rachel cries out and reaches for Puck to pull him down to her. Their lips meet, swallowing each others moans and Puck's thrusts turn softer while they ride out their orgasms.

He gently takes Rachel's leg off his shoulder and eases himself out of her, both of them wincing at the loss. He carefully takes off the condom and gets up to throw it away in the bathroom close by.

Rachel sits up in her place on the floor, reaching over to the coffee table for her glass of wine. She drinks the rest of it in one gulp, staring at the scattered clothes all over the floor with a grin.

But when she looks at her feet, she sees she still has her red high heels on and laughs hysterically.

x

When she wakes up the next day, it's almost noon and Puck isn't in bed with her.

She knows he's on call for most of the day and would be surprised if he didn't get called in yet. She doesn't have to be at the hospital, having a rare day off, so letting herself sleep until noon is a luxury.

She gets up from her bed and immediately steps on her comforter and some pillows. She and Puck didn't really need them during the night…it really just got in the way of everything they were doing. She puts on a pair of panties and tank top and goes downstairs to finally clean up the mess from last night.

When she gets to the kitchen though, all of the dishes are done and a plate of eggs and toast are waiting for her on the counter…along with Puck in his boxers reading the paper with some coffee.

He looks up from what he's reading to see her in the entryway looking around the kitchen confused.

"Morning. Kind of woke up early so I decided to do those dishes for you and make some breakfast…but you don't have much in your fridge. I did what I could," he tells her.

She simply nods and goes to pour herself a cup of coffee, not really knowing what to make of him being so comfortable in her kitchen already. It's unnerving but sexy at the same time. He looks good in here and she shouldn't be thinking that already.

She takes a sip of her coffee and looks out the window of her kitchen for a moment when Puck wraps his arms around her from behind and turns her around towards him. She looks up in surprise but puts her coffee nonetheless so she can properly pull him into a kiss.

It's soft, less urgent and frenzied from the contact they've had all night. He sips at her lips, framing her face with his hands. They stay like this for a few moments, leisurely kissing each other as if they have all the time in the world.

He pulls away slowly though when breathing becomes an issue and smiles at the dreamy look on Rachel's face.

"You're pretty quiet this morning. Something wrong?" he murmurs.

Rachel shakes her head. "I just…I thought you left or something. I didn't expect all this when I came down here."

"I wouldn't have left without telling you Rach-"

"No it's ok I just…somehow I thought everything from last night was too good to be true and when I woke up it would be different," she interrupts sheepishly.

Puck sighs and pulls her closely to him. "It's not too good to be true babe. I did fuck you into exhaustion many times last night."

Rachel giggles and smacks Puck in the stomach lightly. "I'd say it was the other way around a couple times."

Puck groans in remembrance. "You're probably right. Fuck when you woke me up in the middle of night with that blowjob. Second time around was even better."

They both shudder and unconsciously move closer to one another, Rachel feeling Puck's hardness at her stomach. She places soft kisses at his chest while he reaches down for her tank top and raises the hem. Her hand moves down to inside his boxers to grasp his hard cock. Puck hisses at the contact.

"Want you again. We need a condom," he whispers against her lips before kissing her quickly. She moves her hand up and down his cock at a slow pace, feeling him become harder if that were even possible.

"I'm on the pill. Just this once Noah," she says against his neck, biting at the spot on his neck she's beginning to love so much. He groans at her words and his hands seem to hesitate taking off her panties. But her increasing pace on his cock seems to be more of an incentive and he relents by slipping on the garment quickly.

She lets go of him only to completely raise the hem of her tank top and take it off completely. He positions himself at her entrance drives in quickly making them both sigh.

All night, their joining together has been hard, fast, animalistic, loud, and frenzied. But this time they go slow, moving together in a soft rhythm. Rachel clings to him, wrapping her legs around him and he holds her up against the counter.

They kiss, swallowing any cries the other may let out. The kitchen is mostly quiet as they rock together and it's not until they're both at the brink that the simplest groans from the both of them can be heard. That doesn't mean the orgasm is any less intense. Rachel sighs and shudders violently when she feels Puck release inside her, letting herself ride out her own orgasm.

The two of them stay still for a moment, not wanting to let go until their moment is completely interrupted by a beeper going off. They both know what that is.

Puck sighs in disappointment and reluctantly pulls out of Rachel slowly. She quickly grabs a clean washcloth from the pile she has on the counter and hands it over to Puck to clean up.

"That's the hospital. Guess I have to go," he tells her.

They both put on whatever clothes they have in the kitchen and living room, not saying much to each other. Once Puck slips on the belt for his slacks, he grabs his wallet off of the coffee table and looks at Rachel.

"You're off today right? Can I see you tonight?" he asks hopefully.

"I would say yes but…I told Brittany and Finn they could move into the house tonight. We're going to have to be more careful if you come over here by the way. I can't risk them seeing you here. What if…what if I come over to your place?"

At this question Puck's expression contorts a little, but before Rachel can even fully notice it he masks it was an easy going smile.

"You don't want to come over to my place it's a complete disaster. I haven't even had time to move all of my stuff in. We'll figure something out ok? I'll see you tomorrow," he explains quickly.

He kisses her thoroughly, not wanting to let go, before pulling away with a quick goodbye and wave. Before she knows it, he's out the door.

x

Brittany and Finn are more trouble than they're worth sometimes.

Rachel wants to spend the rest of the day in bed and intends to do just that after getting a shower, if it weren't for the fact that her two new tenants decided they wanted to move in 5 hours earlier than she told them to.

She's snuggled in her bed in her favorite sweatpants and can still smell Puck on her sheets. She's been asleep for a hour when she hears the doorbell and incessant knocking on the door.

When she goes down to open it the two of them are standing on her doorstep with bright smiles and boxes.

"Hey roomie!" Brittany exclaims.

Rachel simply scowls and holds the door open wider for them so they can get in.

She pretty much refuses to help them and watches as they bring box after box into her living room. It's not too many thankfully and when they're done the 3 of them look around contemplating where to put everything.

And then Brittany gasps.

"I didn't even notice the two wine glasses on the coffee table. And is that a dress over there? Oh my god I forgot about your date last night!" she squeals.

Finn blushes, getting the insinuation of Rachel's dress being in the living room while Rachel hides her face completely in her hands.

"Brittany shut up and find your room," she mutters.

"You're going to have to tell me about it sooner or later you know," Brittany points out.

Rachel shakes her head in annoyance and goes to the kitchen to find food. She really needs food.

Hours later the boxes are in their rightful places and the three interns are sitting on the couch with beers in their hands. It's the first time since they got here that its been quiet and Rachel decides to enjoy it while she can.

Although it has been a fun day. She doesn't want to admit it, but having Brittany and Finn around here could be fun. It's better than being completely alone in this house with all of the memories. The two of them bring a lot of laughter and silliness. Something this house has never really seen.

"We should have a party. A housewarming party," Brittany suggests after taking a sip of her beer.

"Yeah! We could invite some of the other interns and stuff. Like a mixer except cooler!" Finn adds.

Rachel groans. "No."

"Why not!" Brittany and Finn whine at the same time.

"I don't want a bunch of people in my house messing up all of my stuff. Just…no!"

"Come on Rach. It's not going to be that many people. And Brittany didn't you say your boyfriend is coming over the weekend? We could have it then! So we can all meet Brittany's boyfriend!" Finn pleads.

The two of them prattle off with more ideas for this party while Rachel sits in between them with no choice but to let them do what they want.

She'll probably regret it later but she can't very well say no to Brittany AND Finn.


	6. Chapter 6

This party is going to be a disaster.

First of all, Rachel hasn't slept since early Thursday night…it's Saturday.

Between work, setting up the house with Finn and Brittany, and copious amounts of sex with Puck that usually results in her having to sneak him out of the house in the middle of the night before anyone sees, sleep hasn't really been a priority.

And then there's her mother. The nursing home has been calling her all the time in order to get Shelby's power of attorney straightened out. Rachel doesn't have time to deal with it. She really doesn't. She also doesn't want to see her mother when she has to be around people for the rest of the night. Unfortunately she finds herself at the nursing home early Saturday morning instead of at the hospital where she should be doing pre rounds.

Shelby is sitting outside on the patio solemnly looking at the flowers. Rachel doesn't bother to go outside and say hi to her but instead goes to see the director of the home.

"We're going to need you two to sign these papers while she's still lucid to consent. She's a little out of it right now so we're going to have to call you and have you come over when that happens."

Rachel rolls her eyes and sighs exasperated. "Look…I haven't slept in almost 48 hours and I'm missing rounds. I have a major surgery that I'm supposed to scrub in on today-heart surgery. I can't do this today. I can't be at her beck and call! Isn't there someone else that could possibly do this if I'm not available?"

The woman looks at her disbelief. "We're talking about signing over your mother's livelihood to you! Finances, medical care, her estate. Are you sure you want to leave that to someone else?"

Rachel looks at the woman and back at her mother through the window to the patio. Shelby seems to be staring blankly into the large yard and not paying attention. Lost in memories of course.

"Just…call me when she's lucid," Rachel mutters before getting up and hurrying out of the building.

She shouldn't have to deal with this. And if things were a little different she wouldn't be the one with all the responsibility.

x

The impending disaster of the party is confirmed when Rachel walks over to eat lunch with Brittany, Finn, and Santana.

"So Rachel," Brittany drawls. "I'm going to need to get more ice and chips for tonight."

Rachel stops eating her salad. "Um…I thought you weren't inviting that many people Britt."

"Yeah," Santana adds. "I thought we decided only people from surgery, trauma, and plastics. You know…the jocks."

Finn smirks. "Yeah well she decided to invite a few people from pedes."

"It's only a few people! And they're so nice and said they would bring some food," Brittany exclaims with a pout.

Santana scoffs. "Yeah I bet we'll have cupcakes at this thing since you invited the pre-schoolers. Next thing you know you'll invite people from psych and then we can really make this party a downer."

Brittany's guilty look confirms everyone's suspicions.

"Really? The shrinks? God," Santana groans.

"So when were you going to confirm all this with Rachel?" Finn asks. Brittany simply shrugs. "I was going to…I'm doing it now."

The whole time Rachel has been quiet and the 3 of them look over to see her leaned back against her chair, arms crossed, with a scowl on her face.

"What happened to this being a little meet your boyfriend cocktail time," she asks steely.

"I'm sorry," Brittany apologizes in a small voice.

At that point, Kurt arriving at their table with his food interrupts the tension.

"I hear there's a party at Rachel's tonight. I make a mean margarita you know," he comments as he sits down.

Santana and Finn give each other a look, knowing that Rachel and Kurt don't get along, but before they can throw him off Brittany tells him, "Oh! Kurt! If you bring lots of ice you can definitely come!"

Santana and Finn sigh while Rachel rolls her eyes and gets up from the table without even throwing her food. She needs to get away from them before she kills them.

x

So heart surgery is kind of a big deal. Too big of a deal to be tired for.

Rachel is lucky to be scrubbing in on Dr. Rutherford's triple bypass today. And if she were smart she would have rested up for it since she's in charge of holding the heart right now.

That's right. She's holding a live, human heart.

She tries to find ways to stay awake during this surgery. She taps her foot, stretches her neck every now and then, actively asks Dr. Rutherford questions, and looks up to the gallery full of people.

Inside she sees Santana, Finn, Brittany, and Kurt talking and laughing occasionally. When they notice Rachel looking at them they give her a smile or thumbs up sign. Well Santana and Kurt don't…but Brittany and Finn do of course.

And then there's Puck.

He's standing at the door in a light blue button up and black slacks looking delicious and doctorly in his white coat and stethoscope. That's enough to wake her up a little. He gives her a smirk and a wink before leaving the room.

There goes her entertainment.

15 minutes later she's not doing any better. The others have left the gallery so she has no one to look at. She sees that Dr. Rutherford is nearly done with everything and starts to relax about the fact that she doesn't have to stand here much longer.

And just as she lets her guard down, she lets her eyes close…for just a second.

Her head bobs down slowly and jolts up immediately. She coughs and shakes her head to get herself in check, trying not to look suspicious to Dr. Rutherford who is now looking at her.

"Everything ok there Dr. Berry?" he asks her with narrowed eyes.

"Yes everything is fine. My hand merely slipped a little on the heart. Very sorry," she answers demurely.

With that he nods and goes back to work.

Later, when he's done and taking the patient off bypass, Rachel goes to clean herself up and takes off her gloves. But as she slips them off, she notices a small hole at her fingertip.

She punctured her glove.

It could mean nothing. She probably didn't even touch the heart. But the patient had a hard time getting off bypass so what if the reason is that she punctured the glove and therefore punctured the person's heart and they'll die and somehow someone will find out it was Rachel and she'll get kicked out of the program.

Her mind finally stops rambling and she nervously takes off her gloves and washes her hands.

She needs to stop being so paranoid. Actually she just needs to sleep.

x

She has to monitor her patient closely during recovery, but she figures lying down for 15 minutes won't do anyone any harm.

She heads over to one of the on call rooms and sees Puck on her way there. He gives her a leering look and smirk while gesturing to the room she's going into. She sighs. If she goes in that on call room with him she's not going to rest.

He discreetly follows her anyway and slips in the room undetected after her. She pays him no mind and takes off her shoes and stretches her arms. Standing for that amount of time was such a bitch on the muscles. She glances over her shoulder at Puck, who is wearing scrubs now and sees he's leaning against the door staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"We should go out tonight," he mentions.

"I can't," she replies simply.

He scoffs. "Why because you're having some lame party at your house?"

"How did you know about that? Does everyone know about this party?" she says incredulously.

He shrugs. "Heard it through the grapevine. Thanks for the invite though. You'd think giving you some fucking awesome orgasms would give me party invitation privileges."

She rolls her eyes. "It was supposed to be a small thing but it's out of control. Fucking Brittany," she murmurs while getting into the bed.

She doesn't hear him say anything else but hears the rustling of shoes being taken off and clothes being removed. She closes her eyes without worry for the first time in hours and feels Puck get in the bed behind her. He's shirtless and spoons around her, letting his arm reach over her to pull her close. His head is nestled against her neck and she sighs when she feels not only his breath but also a soft kiss against her neck.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" she asks sleepily.

He hums and the rumble of his chest lulls her even more. "No. I just want to hold you for a minute," he answers softly.

She smiles. "You're so sweet." It's the last thing she says before her breath goes steady and she falls asleep.

She doesn't know it yet but it's the last moment of peace she has for the next 24 hours.

x

Things kind of start to go to shit when her bypass patient goes downhill.

She'd like to think it's not her fault, and there's a very good chance that it isn't. But everything should be going well and the only thing she can think of that's wrong is the fact that she pumped her glove and could have punctured the heart.

The woman's vitals are all over the place and everyone is trying to figure out what to do. She's reading off every protocol and nothing seems to be working. The woman's husband stands by, even though she told them a million times to get out of here, looking helpless and completely scared which causes her mind to race even more.

Where the hell is Rutherford? Why aren't the attendings around when she really needs them?

And like a prayer he finally shows up barking at everyone to get moving and asking them where they're at.

"She shouldn't be this bad Berry what the hell is wrong with her," he says confused as he looks over her chart quickly.

Rachel bites her lip and impulsively speaks before even thinking about it. "I pumped a glove at the end of surgery. I don't know what happened but I may have punctured the heart. I'm not sure. I'm so so sorry Dr. Rutherford."

He looks at her mouth agape for a few seconds, and she feels her heart stop when she looks around the room and her eyes land on the patient's husb-

Shit. She has to be the stupidest intern ever.

x

The past few times she had to deal with Schuester he really seemed to like her. Being Shelby's daughter probably helped with that, but it's basically a thing of the past right now.

"I need to know exactly what happened in that OR and I need to know now," Schuester tells them sternly.

Rutherford is sitting next to her with his head in his hands shaking his head. She's really just sitting there scrunched up in her seat, wishing the earth would swallow her whole.

"We're not even sure that you popping the glove is the cause of her problems right now Dr. Berry," Rutherford mutters. "It was extremely foolish of you to say anything. Especially in front of the patient's husband!"

"You do understand he wants an investigation now Dr. Berry?" Chief Schuester informs her. "He's talking to his lawyers and he wants to sue the hospital. So you better get your ass out there and convince him that whatever you said isn't the reason his wife is in critical condition."

She nods sheepishly and hurries out of the room before she says anything stupid.

Convincing the man is not as easy as anyone thinks though.

Mr. Arnold seems like a perfectly reasonable man but in this situation he doesn't even want to listen to her. She tries to reason with him but he goes on and on about how his wife was in the best shape of her life and she lost about 60 pounds. He angrily tells her not to speak to him anymore and walks away from her.

Which means her ass is grass.

x

Basically everyone in the hospital heard about what she did, which means they're all giving her different kinds of looks she doesn't care for.

She's sitting in the cafeteria with Santana when Kurt walks by them and gives her a raised eyebrow and haughty look.

She really hates him. Especially right now with his holier than thou look.

The nurses are kind of just shaking their heads when they see her, probably because they're smarter than her in the fact that they wouldn't have said something so stupid in front of a patient's spouse.

Santana at least doesn't say anything…same with Brittany and Finn. This makes them good friends.

Instead the 3 of them talk about the party whenever they see her, discussing different kinds of drinks they should get and snacks everyone should bring. She really hated the idea of this party before but with the current situation it's kind of her saving grace.

She's in the middle of writing up charts when her pager goes off and she sees it's Puck. They kind of have a designated on call room, so she heads over there and walks in when she knows no one is really looking in her direction.

He's sitting on the bed, shirtless once again, and doing something on his phone with a concentrated look on his face. It's kind of cute. She clears her throat quietly to alert him of her presence and locks the door before going to sit next to him. He gives her a smile that she's really grateful to see in the midst of everything else going on. She sits down and his arm immediately goes around her waist to pull her close to him. He kisses the top of her head and murmurs hello in her ear.

It's really affectionate.

These are the moments she really feels like there's something more between them. Most of the time everything is very hurried, frantic, and hot. But sometimes they have more than a few moments to just slow down and…be quiet. It's nothing like their personalities but in a way she likes it more than anything else. And it's a little scary.

"How are you holding up?" he asks.

She sighs. "Mr. Arnold won't talk to me and I have to meet with the Chief and legal in a half hour. I don't know what to do."

"Well has she stabilized at least?"

"Yeah she's doing better than she was a couple hours ago but she has a long way to go. I don't know Noah. I thought it may have been my fault at first but her husband mentioned that she lost a ton of weight in a short amount of time. I think it was about 75 pounds once I looked at the chart and her medical history."

"Losing that kind of weight so fast is shit starter in the heart," he mentions.

"Exactly. I think the heart walls were so damaged anyway and the stress of the weight loss and the bypass didn't help," she realizes. "It's not my fault!"

Puck shrugs. "I probably could have told you that. Pumping a glove never really killed anyone."

She lifts her head from his shoulder and looks up at him with a smile. "Shut up. Am I supposed to consult you on everything now?" she asks with a raised eyebrow.

He smirks. "It'll probably keep you out of trouble baby." He leans down and presses his lips against hers softly. She groans and deepens the kiss, opening her mouth to let his tongue slip in and duel with hers.

Everything is sparks when they come together in any way.

He breaks the kiss and nips along under her ear to that space in her neck she loves so much. She closes her eyes and sighs, letting her hands roam along his chest. She traces his abs for a few moments before her fingers trail down to the hem of his scrub pants. He smirks against her neck.

"Sure we have time for that baby?"

"I don't have time for that but…I think you do," she replies coyly. She pushes him away from her hard enough that his back lands against the bed with an 'oof'. She straddles him and looks down at his confused face, giggling a little bit.

"Rach what are you do-"

"Are you really questioning me right now when I'm about to suck your cock?" she asks bluntly.

He groans at her words and grinds his hips against hers slightly. "Well we don't have much time."

She leans down until they're chest to chest and kisses the underside of his jaw. "You know I don't need much time," she murmurs hotly.

"You really fucking don't babe," he agrees as he watches her crawl down his body with kisses against his chest.

x

Everything kind of goes to hell with the legal meeting.

First of all, she really hates that these SOBs think they can waltz in and act like they know better than the doctors that work their asses off here. She certainly knows more about Mrs. Arnold's case than this lawyer. She is the one whose ass is on the line. Her entire career is pretty much at stake and all this woman can think about is how the hospital is going to look.

The hospital is going to be fine regardless. Rachel may not.

Secondly, having another meeting tomorrow morning is not going to go well. Especially with all the people coming over tonight.

Jones is pissed beyond belief with her and relegates her to sorting and signing charts from the past 2 days.

It's literally going to take forever.

And meanwhile, Puck is constantly texting her with dirty messages that get her riled up or he's trying to convince her to ditch the party and come out with him. Really the 2 things go hand in hand.

She's completely distracted and she'll admit that. So when she finally is able to go to home and walks up to her brownstone to see more people than she can count milling about, her eyes widen a little bit.

"Brittany I'm going to kill you," she mutters.

She walks and it seems a little bit smoky in the house and it kind of smells like cigarettes and pot.

Really? A bunch of people who work in a hospital smoking?

People are everywhere talking, laughing, and dancing. The music is pumping so loud that the bass let's her hear the beat of her heart. She looks at the table and sees the copious amounts of cups and alcohol available to everyone.

Her house is a disaster.

She huffs in frustration when she suddenly sees someone almost knock over a pretty valuable vase. She immediately goes to collect it and gives the person the evil eye. She trudges into the kitchen, trying to avoid everyone along the way and opens up one of the cabinets to put the vase in. She looks around to see who else is there and finally sees Finn talking to a few other guys. He sees her from the across the room and pales slightly.

Yeah he should be nervous. Because she's going kill him and Brittany.

He excuses himself from his group and meets Rachel halfway. She crosses her arms and straightens up to look more intimidating to him. She may seem like a midget compared to him but she'll make up for the height with her attitude.

"What happened to this being a little get together with all the interns Finn?" she shouts over the music.

"Well…uh…" he stutters. "You see Brittany has made a ton of friends since we started and um…"

"Just know that if anything bad happens to this house, it's on your head. Understand?" she tells him with a pointed look.

Finn gulps loudly and merely nods before running away.

Rachel smirks and heads over to living room to see if she can find anyone else she knows around here. And when she does she finds Santana dancing on her coffee table.

The Latina looks a mess with her hair flying about and hips swaying everywhere. She also has a bottle of tequila in her hand. The girl looks up from her dancing trance and notices Rachel staring at her.

"Baby girl Berry you're here!" she cheers. She gestures for Rachel to join her on the table. Rachel sighs, knowing that it's probably a bad idea to add more weight to that coffee table, and also to consume any tequila tonight.

But fuck it. It's been the longest day ever.

So what of it if she yells in exuberance with Santana as she gets on top of the table chugs from the bottle of tequila?

She deserves it.

x

A couple hours later she's completely drunk off her ass.

She hasn't stopped dancing with Santana and sometimes Finn since she got the bottle of tequila in her hands. Thanks to the 3 of them, it's empty now.

She's made a lot of new friends since she got here. She knows Santana kind of hates the interns from dermatology but they're actually a really chill and nice crowd. And they tell her to come in anytime if she wants a free facial or something so how can she hate anyone like that?

She even sees Jones at one point, looking awesome in a purple dress and asking Rachel if they have any bourbon with a stern look on her face. She hasn't bothered to see if Jones is having any fun because it's kind of awkward to see the woman who yells at her all day outside of the hospital anyway.

But when she thinks about it…she hasn't seen Brittany, the mastermind of this whole situation, at all.

But she's a little too drunk to care that much about it.

She's dancing against Santana at one point to this awesome Tiesto song when she looks over to the entrance and sees a familiar figure leaning against the wall staring at her with a smirk on his face.

Puck is wearing dark jeans and a black hoodie that's kind of covering his face, which would seem creepy if it weren't for the fact that his mere presence at this party would start chaos.

She slips away quickly from Santana and stumbles over to Puck. She trips over nothing, tumbling into his arms with an "oof" and hears the soft rumble of his chest from laughing.

"So this is what you ditched me for? A lame party and some tequila?" he wonders.

"Hey! This is an awesome party thank you very much. And I love tequila. Tequila is my friend," she slurs.

"You're not going to be saying that in the morning," he mutters as he straightens her up.

"Mmm you shouldn't be so quick insult Mr. Tequila. He makes me a verrry happy person Noah," she emphasizes. "In fact, I'm so happy right now that I want you to come upstairs with me." She murmurs that last part in his ear and he shudders as her breath tickles his ear.

"Rach you're drunk," he sighs exasperated as he helps her trudge up the stairs, past all the people milling about.

"Noah," she whines. "Being drunk just intensifies how much I want to fuck you. Don't you know that baby?"

He groans at her words, feeling his ethics already slip away at the situation. He shouldn't even be here but he wanted to see her. And he shouldn't have sex with her when she's so drunk with all of their coworkers in her house.

"Do you remember that night at the bar when I rejected you? I regretted that so much the next day Noah, you have no idea. I wanted you so bad, just like I do right now," Rachel tells him. "Please fuck me baby, I need you," she whispers in his ear.

They get to the top of the stairs and he continues his quest to the bedroom with her in tow. Screw his morals. If she really wants to get fucked that bad he'll give her what she's asking for.

Just as they're about to pass her bathroom, Noah's gaze lands on someone who's standing right by Rachel's bedroom door.

What the hell is Dr. Jones doing here?

She's really the last person they need to see right now. Puck thinks fast and quickly opens the bathroom door so that they can get in before anyone really sees them. He turns on the light and locks the door. When he turns he finds Rachel sitting on the counter slipping off her top.

"Why are we in the bathroom Noah?" she wonders after she's thrown her shirt to the wayside. Puck's mouth goes dry at the sight of Rachel in a tight skirt and purple lace bra. He clears his throat and answers quickly.

"Your resident was by your bedroom door talking to someone so I had to get us in here before she saw us." He comes closer to her until he's standing in between her legs, laying his hands on her thighs. She gazes at him from beneath her eyelashes, toying with the hem of his hoodie.

He grabs her hips and brings her to the edge of the counter, joining his mouth with hers harshly. Their tongues duel together for a few moments before air becomes an issue and they separate with heavy breaths. Puck nips at Rachel's neck, trailing kisses down to her collarbone where he sucks lightly to make a mark. Rachel groans low in her throat and reaches behind her back to take off her bra. She pushes Puck away lightly to slip the small garment off, tossing it to the side. Puck slips his hoodie and t-shirt off, feeling stifled by the heat they're creating in the small bathroom.

Rachel immediately begins to unbuckle Puck's belt and undoes his pants. He tugs them off while she reaches under her skirt to pull off her panties that match similarly to her bra.

"Fuck you're so eager for this," Noah murmurs as he slips his hand up her thigh, leaving a trail of heat coursing through Rachel.

She purrs and grabs her breast, pinching her nipple and grabbing Puck's hair to push him down where she wants him.

"I need you to touch me Noah, please," she pleads.

"What do you want me to do baby?" he asks against her inner thigh while nipping at the skin.

"Lick me, please," she pants.

He smirks against her thigh and uses his finger to nudge against her clit, causing Rachel to jolt and moan in surprise. He continues to flick at her nub while licking at the outside of her folds. He starts slowly at first, teasing her and driving her crazy. She undulates her hips against him, urging him to go faster and give her release. He decides to cut her a break and inserts one, then two fingers in her. She cries out, arching her back in ecstasy as he thrusts his fingers in and out at a fast pace. He continues to spear her clit with his tongue, sucking on her small nub.

Rachel pants and grabs the hair on Puck's head tighter, not even caring if it hurts him at this point. "I'm so close Noah, oh god," she keens.

"Come baby. Let me feel you come around me. Fuck you're so tight," he grunts.

Rachel clenches around his fingers, feeling her orgasm coming on. She shudders violently and her mouth opens in a silent scream. The bathroom is mostly quiet if you ignore the sounds of the party outside and the harsh breathing coming from Rachel. Puck continues to lick gently at her clit, letting her come down from her orgasm slowly. He slips his fingers out and stands up between her legs again, kissing her forcefully. She moans, tasting herself on his tongue and reaches for his hand to bring it closer to them. She breaks the kiss and sucks on his fingers, licking all of his juices off of him without breaking eye contact with him.

Once she releases his fingers from her mouth she reaches down and grabs his cock. Puck groans as her hand jerks him off quickly and teases his tip against her opening. He reaches for her neck, tilting her head up so he can nip at her pulse while he pushes into her opening teasingly slow. They both groan at how full they feel now, rocking against each other slowly. She brings her legs around his waist and grinds against him and they work together to create a fast rhythm.

Everything is chaos outside and all of their coworkers are outside those doors, but for right now it's just the two of them. Even if it's just a moment.

Puck lifts her right leg up from around his waist to go over his shoulder so he can push into her deeper, just the way she likes it. The new angle lets him hit the spot he knows makes her go crazy. She whines in desperation, grinding against him faster as his thrusts become more brutal. He reaches around to her other leg, going behind her knee to press against that muscle that will drive her absolutely wild. It was a discovery he made not that long ago that ended up causing the loudest orgasm he'd ever heard from her.

This time was no different.

"Holy shit!" she wails loudly. Puck smirks as he continuously presses against the point while pushing into her deeper and harder. She keens his name continuously, feeling her second orgasm of the night coming over her. Puck presses his mouth against hers to swallow their cries, riding out their orgasms in tandem. His thrusts slow down over time and they separate with bated breath, nipping at each other's lips and not wanting to let go of each other.

Rachel leans her head back and closes her eyes.

"I think you fucked me sober," she says hoarsely. The two of them chuckle together for a moment before Puck leans in for another kiss, this time more slow and lazy.

They've completely blocked out the sounds of the party by now.

x

They finally make it back into their clothes 10 minutes later, mostly because people are starting to knock on the door wanting to use the bathroom. They don't have much of an escape route, but if they can make it a few feet to her bedroom they're home free and they can continue their night as usual. Puck is adjusting his hood so that it at least covers some of his face without him looking like a complete freak while Rachel finishes putting her panties back on.

"You ready?" Puck asks her as he stands by the door.

"Just duck and cover ok? Don't look at anyone," she orders him sternly.

She takes a deep breath and opens the door quickly, which interrupts the incessant banging on the door.

And of course it just has to be Dr. Jones.

Rachel and Puck stand frozen at the doorway, looking completely guilty at the woman. She merely stares at them with her arms crossed and a bothered look on her face.

"Could you two fools move so I can finally get to the bathroom. You been in there a long ass time anyway," she huffs. She pushes past them, effectively getting them out of the bathroom, and slams the door. The couple is left stunned.

"Did she even notice that was us?" Rachel wonders.

Puck shrugs. "I don't think we should stay to find out. Get to your room before Chief Schuester shows up or something.

"Oh god that would be our luck," Rachel groans as they hurry over to her bedroom and shut the door.

x

She really regrets the entire ordeal the next morning when she's sitting once again with the chief, Dr. Rutherford, and the legal team.

She can't even form a thought at this point, let alone defend herself enough to save her career.

She's been sitting here for the past 10 minutes, listening to the lawyers strategize and present options of how to deal with this whole mess. But really she hasn't been listening. She's been ignoring their voices and letting the voice inside her head try and reason why the hell she would drink all the tequila last night.

And then there's Dr. Jones. She can't even fathom that right now. Rachel's not even sure she actually saw Noah.

Her brain catches up to the conversation going on around her when she hears the bitchy lawyer mention the words "suspended" and "fired".

"Excuse me? You want to just fire me?" Rachel asks incredulously.

"We have no choice Dr. Berry. With how bad Mrs. Arnold's condition is and the uncertainty of her recovery, we have to take steps to protect the integrity of this hospital," the lawyer informs her as if it's no big deal.

"But," Rachel sputters. "This is my career on the line. My entire career will be over before it starts. Did you think about that?"

"Well you should have thought about that before you decided to be so irresponsible Dr. Berry-"

"Enough!" Dr. Rutherford says sharply. Everyone in the room looks at him in surprise because Rutherford really isn't one to speak up too much. He does what he has to do and says what is necessary but he doesn't actually…talk that much.

"This is absolutely ridiculous. People make mistakes, even doctors. And especially interns. That's the whole point of being an intern! But of course you wouldn't know because you don't seem to understand the way this job works at all. At least Dr. Berry spoke up and said something. You people walk in here with your high and mighty morals and ethics and basically scare everyone into silence. Because if any of us tell the truth about half the mistakes we've made, you'd make sure we never have careers in medicine again. But Dr. Berry said something and I think that should be applauded if nothing else. She spoke up and she shouldn't be punished for that," Rutherford tells everyone sternly.

Chief Schuester merely sits at his desk with a blank look on his face, twiddling his pen in his hand. The lawyers are sitting with their arms crossed looking completely insulted and shocked.

Rachel is just resisting the urge to smile.

"Look," Schuester begins. "We're honestly not even sure that Dr. Berry is the cause of Mrs. Arnold's health problems. And from what I've seen on the charts I doubt she is. The woman had some preexisting conditions and problems before the surgery, not to mention the huge stress the body took by losing so much weight so fast over the past year. I think we have enough evidence to fight this in court if it comes to that. Dr. Berry will be fine."

The lawyers look like they want to protest but it doesn't seem like it's up for argument with the chief. They simply nod and tell everyone to have a good day before they leave. The three doctors sit in silence for a moment before Schuester gets up.

"What are you two still sitting here for? Go save lives or something," he waves them off.

Rachel and Rutherford grin slightly before getting up and out of the office. When they walk out the door, Rachel murmurs a thank you to Rutherford before hurrying off to pre-rounds.

It's funny how the quietest doctor in the hospital can save your ass.

x

Here's how Rachel knows that Dr. Jones knows about her and Puck.

Rachel has been doing sutures in the pit all afternoon.

They only have to do this when Jones is really pissed at them. If they mess up on their charts, they do sutures. If they mess up something during rounds, they do sutures. If they annoy Jones's general existence, they do sutures.

Everyone else has assignments on awesome cases while Rachel is the only one left to do all the scut work.

Jones knows.

She finishes her last person for at least a little while before deciding she at least needs to go to the bathroom. She walks past the nurses station to get to the restroom when she sees Puck talking to another doctor. He catches her gaze and gives her a knowing smile while she blushes and tries not to giggle like a schoolgirl.

And then she bumps into Jones.

She stumbles back and sputters her apologies. "Dr. Jones I'm so sorry I wasn't watching where I was going."

"You sure weren't," Mercedes rolls her eyes.

"I um…so…did you enjoy the party last night?" Rachel asks sheepishly.

"Sure. Until I had to see my intern and my boss walk out of a bathroom together. And I think we both know what happened there."

Rachel's face goes completely red and she opens her mouth to say something. But there's not really anything to say…is there.

"I don't know what the hell you think you're doing Dr. Berry but you better think about it quick before you screw up your chances at becoming a doctor," Mercedes hisses before going on her way.

Rachel watches her resident walk off and sighs before looking over to see that Puck saw the whole exchange. He has questioning eyes and she merely nods her head to confirm what they both know.

They're so fucked.


	7. Chapter 7

Jones is riding her ass.

And it's not in a way she likes. Rachel can't even count how many hoops she's had to jump through for the woman only to end up getting some veiled insult about her relationship with Puck. But she can't exactly say anything…the woman is her boss.

She's not really alone in it either. Puck got cornered by Dr. Jones and tried to lay on the charm but…that doesn't really work with her.

" _Mercedes, it's nice to you. You know I never see you enough around in this hospital," Puck tells the shorter but still more intimidating woman sweetly when she corners him in the stairwell._

" _Mhmm," she hums. "Maybe that's cause you're too busy staring at my intern's ass to notice anyone else."_

_Puck's mouth gapes open in shock. "Mercedes I-"_

" _It's Dr. Jones to you Dr. Puckerman," she reminds him sternly._

" _You know Dr. Jones…I am your boss," he defends._

" _Does it look like I care?"_

" _Clearly not. Is there something you need other than to berate me for things that happen when I'm not in this hospital?"_

_Mercedes eyes narrow and she steps closer to Puck, effectively putting him against the wall._

" _You better listen. If I see you favor Rachel Berry even a little bit, I won't let that girl see the inside of an OR for a month. And you know I'll make good on that promise. All the girl has been doing this week is scut work and I can make it even worse for her."_

_Puck's jaw clenches and he resists the urge to say something that will put him and Rachel in deeper shit. He simply nods to acknowledge Mercedes request and watches the woman walk away._

So really Rachel kind of has no allies in this situation.

Santana certainly knows what's going on, but it's not like she can do anything for Rachel other than give her sympathetic looks. Brittany and Finn are still blissfully unaware of the situation. They really just think this all has to do with that bypass patient Rachel had.

Their assumptions can stay correct for all she cares.

So she goes on through her days doing menial tasks and staying out of Puck's way so that Jones doesn't even see them together.

Basically work sucks.

x

Rachel gets a call one afternoon that her mother is lucid so she should come in right away to get those papers signed.

It's really not often that Shelby is in her right mind, but unfortunately Rachel is already at the hospital. She can't really get away. There's about 3 hours left in her shift before she can go over to the nursing home so she just hopes that Shelby can hold off until then.

By the time she gets to the home it's getting pretty dark. She walks right through reception in a hurry and doesn't even glance at the receptionist.

If she had she would have noticed the sympathetic look.

She walks into the living room and sees the back of her mother's head in an armchair while 2 official looking people sit across from her. One of the nurses is at her side.

Rachel walks over to the corner of the room where they're located and Shelby turns to look at her exasperated.

"What is the meaning of this Rachel? I have a surgery that I have to get to. I have work to do!" the woman snaps.

Rachel stands there dumbfounded and looks at the lawyers and nurse who seem completely unsurprised.

"I thought she was lucid." Rachel says.

"She was a hour ago when they first got here. We should have done this earlier today," the nurse tells her.

Rachel clenches her fist in an effort to not snap at the woman with her stupid comments. Instead she turns to her mother.

"Mom I need you to focus ok? You're not going to the hospital to work."

"Like hell I'm not! You and your father just want to keep me here don't you? But it's not going to work. I have a job to do and I have lives to save Rachel. You need to understand that," Shelby says sternly.

Rachel shakes her head, hearing this sort of thing many times before. "Mom you're not a surgeon anymore remember? We're at the nursing home just like we talked about when you called me in Paris. You have Alzheimers. We need to sign over everything to me but I need you to focus or else we won't be able to," Rachel replies calmly.

Shelby merely stares back at Rachel blankly, as if she doesn't even see her or heard a word she said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Rachel. Please go to your room so I can go to work. I'm sick of this nonsense."

Rachel scoffs and turns away from her mother to look at the lawyers and nurse.

"Why did you guys have this done before when she was still fine?" Rachel shouts. "I don't have time for this. I have a life, I have a job. I'm a surgical intern in a hospital, my time is not my own. That means I can't just pop up whenever she's lucid so we can do things that she should have had done a long time ago. But leave it to Shelby to not really care about anyone but herself. God, why didn't she just have this done earlier?"

The lawyers clearly don't know what to say to her, and she doesn't want to stay and listen. She trudges out of the room without looking back and tries to hold back tears as she walks out of the building.

Instead of doing something stupid like going to drink Rachel decides to sit on a bench not far from the building. She puts her bag down next to her and reaches for her cellphone. She looks through her contacts until she finds the one she wants and presses the call button. The phone rings a few times before a man's voice picks up with a hello.

"Hi daddy," Rachel says tearfully.

"Rachel? What's wrong sweetie?" her dad asks worriedly.

"Nothing it's just…I just wanted to hear your voice that's all. I'm really stressed out."

"Oh…surgery more stressful than you thought it would be?"

"Well…yes but…it's more than that. It's mom daddy."

"Oh."

"Yeah. She just…I don't know what to do anymore. I can't talk to anyone about this and you're not even supposed to know. I don't know why all of this is on me," Rachel says while beginning to cry.

"I'm so sorry Rachel," her father says sympathetically. "It's just like your mother to make you take the brunt of everything huh?"

Rachel is silently crying on the other line, trying to hold herself together. She usually doesn't call her father about these things, but something about this week is completely weighing her down. Work has become more chaotic with Jones hating her and keeping her relationship with Puck a secret could probably cause an ulcer. Add her mother's illness to the mix and you have a ticking time bomb.

"I'm sorry for calling you about this daddy I know you hate to talk about her," Rachel apologizes.

"No it's ok honey. I can see you're stressed out. I wish you didn't have to go through this alone," he reassures her.

In reality she doesn't. She could tell people.

She could tell Puck.

Rachel sniffles, reaching into her bag for a tissue so she can dry her tears and her nose. She's finally calmed down and notices the heaviness in her heart has lifted at least a little bit. Sometimes crying does her some good.

"Look Rachel…I have to go. I'm so sorry honey. I would stay on the phone with you but Cameron and I are supposed to go to Audrey's recital and we're running late," her father says.

Rachel's closes her eyes and breaths deeply to prevent herself from saying something inappropriate. "No it's…it's ok daddy. You have a life. You have to go."

"Are you sure you'll be ok?" he asks skeptically.

"Yeah daddy…I always am," she answers.

They say their goodbyes and Rachel gets off the phone, looking out into the New York streets pensively.

Her father Samuel Berry is a very loving and caring man. She knows this. But she finds it hard to quell the resentment in her heart from him having such a separate life from her. She understands how difficult it was for him to deal with her mother. But for him to just up and leave one day when she was 7 was one of the hardest things she's ever had to deal with.

And years later he began a new life with a new family…except that included a man.

Not that Rachel has any problems whatsoever with homosexuality. She loves gay people. But try explaining to a 10 year old how her father can be married to her mother but then married to another man. It gets confusing. Her dad getting remarried in general gave her a bit of a complex.

And now she's a grown woman and it's still just as hard. Her father and his husband Cameron have 3 kids who seem to be the light of their lives. They're all talented, adorable, and so fucking nice that she wishes she could scream. She's jealous of them. In a sense they have the childhood she should have had-with two loving parents to help nurture and guide her through everything in her life.

Instead she had Shelby most of her life and her dad on some holidays. No wonder she's emotionally crippled.

x

During their morning rounds Puck asks for one of the interns to brief everyone on the case as usual. It seems moderately standard involving an older man with Parkinson's. His symptoms seem to have worsened since his tremors are nonstop, but they'll be doing surgery on his spine. His daughter helps him around the room as he makes jokes with all of them.

Brittany seems to have the briefing handled until Puck asks her a question she completely blanks on. She feels a little sorry for her, considering Brittany is actually quite smart.

Doesn't mean she's going to resist showing off her knowledge. It's a dog eat dog world here.

She raises her hand and answers the question to the surprise of everyone in the room considering they didn't even know it. Puck raises his eyebrows in appreciation and moves on to another topic. He stumbles however when he looks towards the door and coughs to mask his mistake.

Rachel furrows her eyebrows and looks behind her to see Dr. Jones standing at the door starting at Puck like's an ant crawling towards her food.

She wants to just call him a wuss but it's not really the appropriate time.

x

Surprisingly he requests her on his service for the case.

It's ballsy considering when Jones tells her she's not happy about it. At all.

But she doesn't mind too much because Mr. Weinstein is really quite funny. He seems to like her, and his daughter chocks it up to the fact that he loves short brunettes. At one point he comments that she has a nose that reminds of Barbra Streisand. She gets that a lot.

"You know with a nose like that, you could have been on Broadway or something," he comments shakily while she leads him back to his bed.

She smirks. "Yeah you know if it weren't for the whole being a doctor thing I probably would have tried for Broadway. Excuse me for a moment, I'm going to go request some more pillows for you."

She walks out of the room and just as she gets down the hall she hears someone behind her yelling her name. She turns around to see Mr. Weinstein's daughter Karla rushing up to her.

"Dr. Berry can I ask you a question?" she asks.

"Of course."

"My dad seems to like you because…you know you're a short brunette and all. I'm wondering if you would be able to talk to him about one of the options Dr. Puckerman gave us? Brain surgery. I read about it online and everything and it just seems like it'll help with most of his symptoms," the girl asks nervously.

"Is he a candidate for it?"

"Yes he is but he's afraid of it. I mean I know there are risks but it's going to help his quality of life and there just-"

"There isn't any right now."

"Yeah. Look I'm getting married next month and I…I want him to walk me down the aisle," Karla says tearfully. "To see him go through this…you don't know what it's like."

Except she does. She knows exactly what it's like to see your parent deteriorate before your very eyes. To see them be knocked from the powerful person you always thought they were. She may not have always liked her mother, but she always thought she could do anything.

But she can't now.

"No…no I do understand," Rachel responds quietly. "I'll talk to him for you."

x

When she goes to talk to Puck about it, she gets a response she doesn't expect.

"Dr. Puckerman," she calls out when she finds him by the elevators. He acknowledges her in between his sips of coffee.

"Mr. Weinstein, is he a good candidate for DBS?"

"Yeah but he's not interested," he tells her in a disinterested manner.

She raises her eyebrow. "Well I think it may be worth talking to him about again. His daughter thinks it's a really important option."

As she talks she notices he's avoiding making eye contact with her. In fact he's looking everywhere except at her.

He's particularly looking over her shoulder.

"Well the surgery takes place while the patient is wide awake. Do you get that there's a risk of paralysis and death Dr. Berry? Maybe that's why he doesn't want it, and it's not my job to convince him. It's not yours either. Maybe you shouldn't scrub in later," he says sternly.

She stands in shock as he walks away without letting her respond. She turns around to watch him walk away only to see Dr. Jones staring at their exchange.

She sighs. Once again…wuss.

x

For once, Rachel decides to ignore authority and talk to Mr. Weinstein once last time.

She walks to his room and hears him and his daughter arguing just as she gets right outside the door.

"Dad you're being unreasonable. Why can't you just talk to the doctors about the brain surgery?" Karla cries.

"They're already cutting into my back and you want them to cut into my brain too? No. No it's enough," he shouts. "If this is about your wedding I already told you that I'll sit in the back while your Uncle Mike walks you down the aisle. It's my life Karla. It's my choice!"

Karla shakes her head in frustration and stalks out of the room past Rachel. Mr. Weinstein looks up to see Rachel at the door and groans.

"Have you come to convince me too?"

Rachel shrugs. "It is your life and your choice Mr. Weinstein but…it's her life too. She in this with you, whether you like it or not. You have a choice to either get better or not, and if you have a chance to get better in order to improve your quality of life you should take it," she reasons.

With that, she leaves the room and lets him ponder on that.

x

Later, she's sitting at lunch with Santana, Brittany, Finn, and Kurt staring forlornly at her salad while everyone chats away about their days.

"You know, Dr. Rutherford threw me off that huge tumor lady's surgery because she heard me talking about it? Which is stupid because everyone is talking about how huge that tumor is. How she let it get like that is beyond me," Kurt tells them.

"You're just pissed because you basically got caught porcelain face. Except I don't know how that woman hears anything over the size of that tumor. What is it 14 pounds?" Santana bites back.

Kurt rolls his eyes. "It's a wonder you're on the case still Santana. How is that fair? Dr. Rutherford probably just wants to get in your scrubs."

Santana stops chewing her food and narrows her eyes at Kurt. "What are you talking about?"

Kurt simply shrugs and moves on asking Finn about something for their case. But Rachel keeps looking at Santana and the tinge of red on her cheeks.

There's something going on there.

"Hey Rachel how's your day going?" Brittany asks her, taking her attention away from Santana.

Rachel shrugs. "Puckermans an ass." She would say wuss but that would confuse them.

"Really?" Brittany says confused. "I think he's great!"

Rachel resists the urge to roll her eyes. She loves Brittany and everything but the girl thinks just about everyone is great.

"Oh so uh…you're having a bad day?" Finn bumbles.

Rachel nods as she picks around at her salad.

"Well I'm having a bad day too. Maybe we could drink tonight? You know…go and drink and talk about our bad, terrible days…you and me. Oh and everyone else too you know. We could all drink?" Finn rambles meekly.

Rachel simply stares at Finn while Santana and Kurt try not to burst out laughing.

Look she's not stupid. She knows Finn has a thing for her. It's been pretty obvious since day 1 and it's probably gotten worse since he moved in. Some mornings she walks out of her room and sees him bumbling around with two cups of coffee, one intended for her, but he spills it before he can even get to her. It's sweet, really, and if Puck didn't exist she might even be interested.

But…no.

Before she can answer him though her beeper goes off.

"Oh look it's my beeper! See you later guys," she says as she leaves the table hurriedly.

She heads up to Mr. Weinstein's room to find him, Karla, and Puck talking.

"Dr. Berry," Puck greets professionally, "you'll be interested to know that Mr. Weinstein has agreed to DBS. The only catch is we have to do it today so you better get ready for some surgery huh?"

She looks to Karla with a surprised look on her face and Karla gives her a grateful smile. Rachel resists the urge to gloat to Puck and instead tells him she'll be ready.

She'll gloat later.

x

Rachel says this about every surgery, but this might honestly be her favorite.

Probably because it's so different and Mr. Weinstein has to be awake for it. Despite his brain being almost exposed the man finds a way to make everyone feel at ease and laugh about it. As Puck uses the electrode to explore the best point of the brain to insert everything, she watches Mr. Weinstein movements as he tries to clap his hands in a back and forth motion. He's frustrated, thinking this surgery isn't even going to work and they cut into his brain for nothing. But as Puck gets closer to the right spot, Mr. Weinstein's tremors begin to cease. He stares at his hands amazed as they slowly and steadily clap both sides of his hands.

"Well I'll be damned!" he exclaims.

It's a proud moment. It's not that she's haughty but she's sure if she and Karla hadn't pressed so hard, he wouldn't have done this surgery. To know how much this means to him even though he'll never say it? All the bullshit today was worth it.

She walks out of the OR with Puck, carting Mr. Weinstein towards the elevators so he can be taken back to his room. Puck walks alongside her as she pushes the gurney, and they go in a comfortable silence until they get to the elevator. It seems to be taking longer than usual.

She stares at the numbers going up and down but not where she needs them to be, feeling Puck's gaze on her.

"I'm uh…sorry about today," she hears him say.

She snorts. "Yeah I bet you are."

"I panicked! Jones seems to be tracking our every move. She basically said she would screw you over if she saw me favoring you."

"You're such a wuss," she murmurs under her breathe.

"Wait what?" he responds confused.

Rachel turns to face him. "Look Noah," she starts quietly, "if this is going to work you're going to need to man up. You don't have to favor me around here like…requesting me on your service. Then you're just making it obvious. But don't be an asshole like you were today. Or I might have to withhold certain…privileges."

Puck's eyes widen. "You wouldn't."

Rachel smirks. "Try me."

They both laugh lightheartedly and finally the elevator dings and opens for them to get on. Before Puck can join them though his beeper goes off.

"Hm I have to go. I'll come over tonight alright? Make sure you do a mental status on Mr. Weinstein in a hour."

She smiles and nods before he rushes off. The elevator door closes and she leans against the wall with her eyes closed, enjoying the few seconds of peace she has.

Until she hears, "Hey Barbra!"

She pops her eyes open to see Mr. Weinstein looking at her.

"If you don't end up marrying that son of a bitch I may have make my daughter do it," he jokes with mirth in his eyes.

Rachel laughs and shakes her head. "I don't know about marrying him Mr. Weinstein but…I think I'll keep him for awhile."

x

She's got a couple hours before her shift is over and goes over to one of the vending machines to get herself some water. Mr. Weinstein has been doing great walking up and down the hallway with Karla. The happiness in the girl's eyes is contagious and Rachel smiles thinking about how special Karla's wedding will be now.

She takes a long draw of her water, and sees Dr. Jones heading towards her. Rachel greets her with a wave to be polite but only receives a blank stare in return. When her resident reaches her, she fires off questions about the menial tasks she gave her to do in between her cases.

"Don't forget about the post op notes and blood draw results you're supposed to deliver," she reminds her.

"I know Dr. Jones," Rachel sighs exasperated.

Mercedes notices the frustration in Rachel's tone. "Do you have a problem Dr. Berry?"

"No…but I think you do," Rachel counters.

The two women stare at each other heatedly, as if daring the other to go to that level. To  _say_ something. Mercedes narrows her eyes and usually Rachel would respond timidly but at this point, Dr. Jones doesn't scare her. Not now that she's had some experience here.

"Can I tell you something Dr. Jones?" Rachel asks.

Mercedes shrugs.

"I didn't know. When I met Dr. Puckerman I didn't know he was my boss…or yours. I didn't know he was a doctor. He was just Noah Puckerman when I met him…a guy in a bar," Rachel explains.

Mercedes blinks and shrugs her shoulder again. "I don't care."

Rachel is taken aback. "Wait…really? Because you've more stand-offish than usual and-"

"I mean I don't care if you knew he was your boss or not. Dr. Berry I don't want to hear about your sex life. My life is a lot easier that way. But now it's front of my face all the god damn time when that man sends a little smirk your way or requests you to assist him on a surgery over everyone else. And you better know that this isn't going to stay hidden for long. Sooner or later your peers are going to know and if you think I'm a hard ass about it you'll be surprised at how your friends will act when they figure out you're sleeping with their boss. Keep it out of my sight Berry. Better yet be smart and think about your career," Mercedes bites before walking away.

Rachel watches her go with a contemplative look on her face.

She's probably right. Then again…Rachel hasn't always considered herself smart.

x

When she gets home that night, she has Puck with her and is thankful Brittany and Finn decided to go for drinks with a few more interns before they went home. Rachel faked tiredness and a headache to get out of it. At least now she and Puck have a couple hours to themselves before the gruesome twosome get home. She sends him up to her room and goes in the kitchen to grab beers and potato chips for when they eventually get hungry. They always do.

She walks in and finds him sitting on the bed in just boxers, doing something on his phone. Per usual his watch and beeper on sitting on her bedside table and his clothes are hanging on the chair by her desk.

He's become a usual fixture in her room, to the point where he has his own body wash and other toiletries hidden in her desk. Brittany and Finn would ask questions if it was in the bathroom of course.

He looks up to see her and smiles, putting his phone on the bedside table. He gets up and takes the beer and potato chips from her and puts them on the floor next to the bed. Rachel takes off her sweater and tosses it aside, not necessarily caring where it goes at the moment.

Puck takes her into his arms and holds her close, leaning his head down to give her a light kiss. Rachel's breath hitches as moves to kiss her neck, concentrating on the spot on her neck that she loves so much. He nuzzles against her neck and sighs.

"Sucks that this is one of the only place I can fucking kiss you," he says quietly.

She reaches for his face and holds it up to look at him, smiling as she stares into his eyes.

She kind of wishes she wasn't even a surgeon. They would have so much more of a chance, of a relationship.

But she shakes that feeling off, not even knowing where it's coming from. That's a dangerous feeling, the need to give up her livelihood for one person. She hasn't known Puck that long and so she doesn't understand where this is coming from.

He furrows his eyebrows seeing that she's lost in thought. "You ok babe?" he asks.

She breaks out of her trance and nods vigorously. "Yes I'm fine. Sorry. Just tired. Can we…can we just sleep tonight baby?"

"Aw baby I was gonna make up for being an asshole today," he tells her wiggling his eyebrows.

Rachel giggles. "You can do that later. I'll insist. But if I let you do what you want now I'm going to want it all night and we won't sleep," she says coyly.

Puck smirks. "We can sleep when we're dead."

She shakes her and moves herself out of his arms to get undressed. Puck moves under the covers of the bed and grabs the chips and beer. When Rachel is dressed in a tank top and shorts she joins Puck on the bed and pops open her beer. He grabs her remote and turns on the TV.

"Shit we're finally able to catch some Sons of Anarchy," he exclaims while wrapping his arm around Rachel and pulling her to his side. Rachel nuzzles against him, getting comfortable and takes a sip of her beer.

"You mean you are. I've never seen this show before."

"Well watch and learn babe. This show is badass. Jax Teller is the man," Puck exclaims again as he becomes engrossed in the TV. Rachel looks up at him and smiles at the concentrated look on his face, wrapping her arm around his middle so she can be closer to him.

She breathes in his neck and smells Irish Spring instead of a hospital. She loves these moments.

x

When Rachel wakes up the next morning she sees it's a little too light outside for her liking.

But that's the not the problem. The problem is the man pressed up behind her…he's not supposed to be here at this time.

Shit.

She reaches for her phone and sees it's 7am. Puck should have been out of here by 5:30, way before Finn and Brittany would have woken up. They have to be at the hospital by 8:30.

She turns around and shakes Puck awake, hissing his name all the while. Puck jolts up groaning and blinking blearily around the room.

"What time is it?" he croaks.

"Too late for you to be here. You have to go before Brittany or Finn see you!" she rushes. She gets out of bed and goes over to get Puck's clothes, throwing them over to him. She rushes over to her own closet and starts planning out her outfit for today.

The two rush around the room in silence, getting dressed and such. When Puck puts on his jacket he walks over to where Rachel is sitting at her desk and kisses her cheek.

"I'll be as quiet as possible babe. They won't see me," he assures her even though she has said anything yet. But he knows she wants to bitch and worry.

She sighs and gives her a quick kiss before shushing him. She watches as she slips out the door.

Puck stops outside the door for a moment, listening to the silence of the house to see where Finn and Brittany are. He hears quiet voices, but they're not upstairs where he is. He tiptoes towards the top of the stairs and the voices become a little louder, along with clatters of pans and such in the kitchen.

"Should we wake up Rachel? She'll be late if we don't go soon," he hears Finn say.

"No she's probably up. You know Rachel, she won't be late," Brittany assures.

Puck considers his options. If he goes down the stairs fast enough, he'll be able to slip out of the door fast enough before they see him from the kitchen. If he hides, he's going to be late for work himself.

He bounds down the stairs as quickly and quietly as he can, cursing under his breath however when he hits a loud creak. He keeps his head down and unlocks the door quickly, slipping out of the house into the New York light.

Thinking he's home free, Puck walks off towards his own apartment with a sigh of relief, contemplating whether to get coffee now or later.

But he thinks wrong, because 2 curious gazes caught his figure as he went out the door. Curiosity soon turned into recognition, and then into shock.


	8. Chapter 8

Brittany and Finn are acting strange.

Which is saying a lot for them because…it's Brittany and Finn. But the two of them have hardly talked to her all morning and when they have it's been short and curt sentences. Usually, she can't get either of them to shut up so it's surprising that they're not gabbing about any gossip from their outing with the other interns last night. They've had a bet going on to see when Kurt is going to out himself as gay because they all know it, and so does he but he hasn't said anything. She would have thought it'd be last night and they'd be telling her all about it since she knew one of the other interns, Dave, was going along with them.

And she always sees Kurt making eyes at Dave.

When they get to work Brittany and Finn keep to themselves, whispering and maybe looking at Rachel every now and then with confused and hurt puppy looks. Rachel rolls her eyes and minds her business, putting on her scrubs in the locker room and drinking her coffee.

She doesn't know what's going on with them but they need to be upfront about it. They're not 10 year olds anymore.

Jones comes in and starts reading out assignments for them today. She's with Dr. Rutherford but Jones tells her to seek out Puck about checking on Mr. Weinstein from yesterday. She hears a quiet scoff from Brittany who mutters "Of course" under her breath.

Rachel turns sharply to look at her with a confused look. "Do you have a problem or something Brittany? You've been acting weird all morning."

"Yeah well of course I'm gonna act weird when I see my boss sneaking out of my house early in the morning like he spent the night there," Brittany retorts with a stern look.

Rachel blushes, because even though Santana knows for the most part what's going on, Kurt doesn't. And the guy has a smirk on his face. Rachel looks to Finn and he has a similarly annoyed look on his face.

"Yeah," he starts. "Good to know that the guy keeping us up all night is Dr. Puckerman. I mean really Rach?"

"The surgeries you're getting from him must be so worth it," Brittany adds.

Rachel clenches her teeth to keep from saying anything she'll regret. Because you know what? They have a right to be pissed. This looks pretty bad. But they don't know him. And they don't know the whole story. She simply sighs and turns back to Jones who has a smirk and 'I told you so' look on her face she wishes she could smack off without getting fired.

"I'm gonna go find Dr. Rutherford," she mutters.

As she walks away from the group she can hear Brittany yell out, "Too bad you're not that interested in cardio or 2 doctors in this place would be getting lucky."

If there's one thing she's learned today, it's that Brittany Pierce can be a real bitch.

x

When she covertly pulls Puck into one of the on call rooms later that day, she immediately hits the shit out of him.

"You fucking idiot," she hisses. "I thought you said they weren't going to see you."

Puck's eyes widen. "Who?"

"Brittany and Finn. They know about Noah and they're  _pissed._ "

"Huh. That explains Finn's veiled insults the entire damn morning. I was wondering what I did to piss him off," Puck realizes.

Rachel sighs. "This isn't good you know. They live with me. They could totally out us if they wanted to. And then I would get kicked out the program and-"

"Hey hey hey," Puck soothes. "You won't get kicked out of the program. They can't do that."

"Wait really?"

Puck shrugs. "Not formally anyway. They might phase you out or something. Doctors won't want you on their service so you won't want to do anything, everyone will be bitches and gossip about you, and then you won't be able to take it anymore and you'll quit."

Rachel quirks an eyebrow. "You say this all like it's no big deal. It's not your ass on the line here."

"Well it's not gonna happen to you. Because first I doubt Finn and Brittany would go so far as to out you and even if people did find out I wouldn't take you off my service."

Rachel's heart perks up at this admission. "Really?" she wonders hopefully.

"Course not. You have a gift for neuro Rach and even if I wasn't sleeping with you I would notice that. If I teach you everything I know baby, you'll be fucking amazing. And I want to do that."

Rachel smiles gratefully at him. "You're…just…thank you." She reaches around him to lock door to the on call room and gives him a coy look.

"I have some time before I have to be anywhere else. C'mere," she whispers while grabbing the front of his shirt to pull him to her. She kisses him fiercely and plucks her tongue in his mouth. He groans against her lips, pulling her closer to him so that their bodies are pushed together. His hands reach under her scrub top, grasping her hips. He thrusts against her so she can feel how hard he is already and she smiles against his lips.

"You want me baby?" he asks against he neck while he licks a trail up to her jaw. Meanwhile his hand is wandering inside her pants and into her panties. She moans as he flicks against her clit.

"Fuck you're already wet," he groans.

He takes his hand out of her pants and she whines at the loss of contact.

"Take your clothes off and get on the bed," he orders.

Rachel's face flushes and she immediately feels a burning low in her stomach. She can already tell he wants to take control, and she loves it when he does that. That coupled with the fact that they're doing this in the hospital where they could get caught gives the whole rendezvous a forbidden vibe.

She backs up towards the bed, keeping eye contact with him, and slips her top off. She watches him bite his lip as she reaches behind her to unclasp her bra and throw it on the floor. When she reaches the bed she turns around and kicks off her sneakers and socks. She looks over her shoulder at Puck whose heated gaze makes her bite her lip in anticipation. She hooks her thumbs around her pants and slips them off slowly, along with their panties, making sure to give him a good show.

She knows how he feels about her ass.

She turns around to sit on the bed, leaning back on her arms and looking expectantly at him.

"How do you want me?" she asks.

He struts towards her and Rachel looks him over, stopping at the large tent his pants are sporting. He takes off his shirt along the way and stops in front of her, in between her legs. She looks up at him and he gives her an affectionate smile, smoothing her hair out of her face.

"First of all, how do you make taking off scrubs so damn hot? Secondly, on your knees baby. I need you to be quiet."

She bites her lips and turns around, situating herself on her knees and leaning forward on her elbows. She hears the rustling of his pants going to the ground and his groan.

"Fuck baby…your ass," he starts while his hand grabs one cheek. She smirks, only because he can't see from this position. She feels his cock against her suddenly, slipping in between her ass cheeks and poking against her rear entrance. She gasps and buries her face into the sheets, purring and automatically pushing against him.

He laughs. "You like that Rach?" He smacks her ass and she moans louder. "If we had more time I'd fuck your ass you know. I had a feeling you'd like it after the first time I spanked you. You like when I play with your ass?" he asks lewdly.

At this point she's out of her mind. She needs him to fuck her and do it fast.

"Please Noah," she groans.

He laughs again and moves his cock away from her ass and towards her center, teasing it against her clit until it's finally at her entrance. He pushes in slowly and it's painful only because she needs to come so badly. He moves all the way in and out at a snail's pace, enjoying how hard she's breathing. He pushes in and stops completely, smirking to himself as she whines into the sheets.

"Such an asshole," she mutters.

"You need something baby?" he asks innocently.

She ignores him and pushes herself up and down his cock, groaning in relief at the sensation. Puck watches entranced as she basically fucks herself on his cock. But he's taken out of his stupor when he hears her moan and looks to see her face first and grasping the sheets. He smacks her ass again and mutters a "fuck" when he feels her clenching around him.

He grasps her hips tightly, preventing her from moving any further, and starts a brutally fast pace. Her muffled moans get louder and he lifts one leg up so he can get that angle that makes her scream.

"You know anyone could catch us right now baby. Is that why you want me to fuck you in here? You never let me do that."

She's grunting into the sheets at this point, muttering his name and fuck over and over again. He grasps her hair and pulls lightly, knowing she loves it when he's rough like this with her. He leans down so that his front is against he back and whispers more filthy words in her ear.

"Are you gonna come for me baby?" he whispers in her ear while smacking her ass again. He puts in a few more brutal thrusts before he feels her completely tighten up around him. Her back is arched and knuckles white from grasping the bed so hard. She whining and moaning incoherently into the sheets and he feels himself coming with her. She's milking him out and he groans quietly, trying not to be too loud.

All that can be heard at this point is their deep breathing. He pulls out of her slowly, hating the loss of contact and lies down next to her on the bed. She in a heap, on her stomach still, with a completely serene expression on her face.

"Mmm," she purrs. "You need to sleep over tonight. So that we have some more...time," she says pointedly.

Puck's eyebrows quirk up. "You serious?"

She nods while shifting over so that her head is sitting on his chest. "I've thought about it before but…I just…I trust you," she says with a shrug.

He looks down on her with a smile she doesn't recognize and kisses the top of her head. "Alright…I'll be over tonight."

She lies against him content, knowing she'll have to get up in a few minutes. She doesn't even know why she suggested they do…that…because she hasn't even known him that long. But even now he's shown her that he isn't just her lover…he's her mentor. He wants to make her a brilliant surgeon. And she knows he can, because he's the best. To know he would be doing that anyway, even if their relationship wasn't like this…it says a lot.

It means they're in this for the long haul.

x

Now that Puck understands why Finn has been pissed at him all day, it's kind of funny to have him on his service.

For the most part, he likes the guy. Out of all the male interns he's the only one he can have a conversation with about regular things. All the other guys are scared shitless probably because he's "Dr. Puckerman".

But he and Finn talk about sports and shit and Finn comments on how Puck has to go to a Knicks game if he's going to live in NY. He concedes to that, only because basketball isn't his biggest sports passion.

But he refuses to go to a Yankees game. There's a line.

The whole day the guy has been muttering things under his breath when he thinks Puck can't hear and after he leaves the on call room with Rachel he thinks that shit is kind of hilarious.

He knows jealousy when he sees it.

He doesn't know much about Finn's friendship with Rachel, only what the girl tells him, but when he's signing something for their patient at the nurse's station he looks over and sees Finn looking longingly at Rachel while she talks to Santana.

If he wasn't with Rachel he'd tell him to man up.

He doesn't even feel threatened…he's starting to get the feeling that this thing with Rachel is getting more serious than either anticipated. He doubts Finn would be able to stop that shit.

He gives the chart over to Finn and tells him to deliver some stuff to the lab for their patient and rolls his eyes when Finn gives him a grimace.

Ok this shit has got to stop.

"Hey Hudson. I know you saw me this morning so cut the shit," he says to Finn when he starts to walk away.

Finn stops and turns around with a surprisingly determined look on his face.

"Yeah…yeah we did see you. And I think it's disgusting that you're taking advantage of her like that," Finn says quietly so no one else hears.

"I'm not taking advantage of her man," Puck reasons with a shrug.

"But you're her boss! You think this shit looks good?"

"No…it doesn't. But if anyone actually knew the whole story they would know I'm not taking advantage of her."

He doesn't really have anything to prove to anyone at this point. He and Rachel are…they're different.

Finn doesn't say anything for awhile, staring at Puck's relaxed posture with a clenched jaw.

"She's pretty great you know?" he finally says.

Puck raises an eyebrow. "Yeah…she really is."

The two men continue to stare at each other in a sort of face off, trying to read other. Finn finally relents and shakes his head.

"Just…don't hurt her ok?" he tells his boss before going to deliver the labs.

Puck sighs as he watches the intern walk off.

The unfortunate thing is this. He can tell Rachel still has her guards up and she's hiding something. But if tonight goes as planned he has a feeling they'll be in a completely different place. She's starting to trust him, and whatever remaining walls she has built up are starting to come down.

But he feels like an asshole. Because she doesn't know how many things he's hiding from her.

x

Rachel manages to avoid Finn and Brittany for most of the day.

Which is kind of an accomplishment. Generally she sees them all the time on a normal day but maybe all 3 of them are actively avoiding being in the same place at the same time.

She asks Santana at one point if Brittany has said anything to her at all.

"Actually Barbie hasn't said much today," Santana starts with a shrug. "I mean she was pissed that I knew about it the whole time and I tried to tell her it wasn't a big deal. She wasn't really receptive though. It's kind of funny…I didn't know she could be such a bitch. I like it!"

Rachel scoffs. "Whose side are you on?"

"No ones. This isn't my shit to deal with. I have my own life."

Rachel shakes her head with a smile and walks away from her friend so she can get things done. She can't even blame her for that response.

It's not until later that night when Rachel gets home that she sees Brittany. Puck is still in surgery and probably won't be over for a few hours. She walks into the kitchen and finds the blonde icing cupcakes. She looks up from her work to see Rachel walk in with a blank expression on her face. She goes back to the cupcakes like she didn't even see her.

"Brittany…would you just listen to me?" Rachel asks quietly.

Brittany ignores her and keeps working. It's like she's saying yes.

Rachel sighs. "Look I know you're pissed and you have every right to be. The thing is I didn't know he was our boss when I first met him. And after that it was kind of too late to stop it from happening. He's kind of relentless."

Brittany finishes the cupcake she's working on and puts it down. She looks up at Rachel with a confused look on her face.

"Do you even know what the hell you're doing Rachel?"

"No…that's the funny thing. I don't. I just know that I really like him Brittany. More than I honestly thought I would. It's not just sex," she pleads.

"Rachel you just…ok. You don't get it. You've had just about everything handed to you your whole life. Your mom is Shelby Berry and now you're sleeping with Noah Puckerman. I've had to work my ass off, dancing through college and med school to make enough money. And now it's like you're getting even more favors. And it fucking sucks."

"I'm not getting any favors Brittany! I swear! I wouldn't let him do that for me even if he wanted to. What happens between him and me doesn't extend to what we all do in the hospital. Trust me. I'm Shelby Berry's daughter. And if you honestly knew my mom you would understand everything about me so much better."

Brittany face finally softens and Rachel sighs with relief to see her friend starting to forgive her and understand.

"I don't want you to hate me Brittany. Noah is coming over after his surgery and staying the night so…I'm just letting you know ok?"

Brittany bites her lip and nods, picking up a finished cupcake and holding it out for Rachel. "Want one?" she asks hopefully.

Rachel smiles. "No thanks. Maybe in the morning."

With that she turns around and starts to go upstairs, but hears Brittany's voice call out to her along the way.

"Could you guys consider being a little quiet tonight or whatever?" Brittany yells.

Rachel laughs to herself. Yeah not a chance in hell.

x

Puck lets himself into the Berry brownstone silently. The house is mostly dark. Finn, Brittany, and Rachel must be in their respective rooms for the night. He takes off his coat and hangs it up on the hangers by the doorway. He takes off his shoes and leaves them where everyone else's is.

It's a strange feeling. Because he's never been able to really leave anything around this house. But now he can.

He quietly goes to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water before going upstairs. He sees some cupcakes sitting on the counter with a little sign saying 'Take one!' with a smiley face. So he does.

When he gets upstairs to Rachel's room she's sitting on her bed mindlessly watching tv in one of his t shirts. Her face is scrubbed clean and her hair is flowing around her like a halo as her head rests against the pillow. She sees him walk in and gives him a brilliant smile.

She's beautiful.

"Hey," she murmurs, sitting up and turning off the tv. "How was the surgery?"

"It was good. Patient came through ok. Hopefully she'll be alright when I get in tomorrow."

Rachel nods and pulls back the covers to walk up to him. She's not wearing anything besides his shirt it looks like and honestly it's sexier than any lace lingerie she could have put on. She tentatively rests her hands on his chest and looks up at him with a shy look on her face. She's nervous and it's kind of cute to see on her.

"You sure you want to this?" he asks while wrapping his hands around her waist to bring her closer.

She hesitates for a second, like she's thinking this over one more time.

"I…I do. I just…have you ever done this before?" she responds.

He shakes his head. "No…this is a first for me too baby."

She grins a little in relief at this admission and her posture becomes more relaxed. "Ok well…we'll…we'll do it together."

He laughs a little and leans down to press a short but hard kiss on her lips. He leans back a little so that their lips are centimeters apart.

"I'm gonna make you feel so good baby," he tells her reassuringly. Her hands reach up around his neck to bring his lips back down to hers and now everything else disappears. Her nervousness is gone and she just…feels him.

They back up towards the bed, separating for a moment to look at each other. He leans his forehead against hers and starts to lift the hem of her shirt up.

They fall into a heap on the bed.


End file.
